


Me and you … in all universes

by JackFrost_Sander



Series: Me and you … in all universes [1]
Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Adopted Children, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Art, Betrayal, Bipolar Disorder, Boy Squad, Boys In Love, Broerrrs - Freeform, Collage, DJ Sobbe, Difficult Decisions, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Espionage, Evil Plans, F/M, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Fear, Fluff, Gay, Girl Squad - Freeform, Gossip, High School, Humor, Jealousy, King - Freeform, Lies, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mental Health Issues, Murder, POV Multiple, Panic Attacks, Plot Twists, Police Brutality, Royalty, Sex, Shower Sex, chosen family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:47:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 116,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24209938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackFrost_Sander/pseuds/JackFrost_Sander
Summary: Robbe and Sander’s story starting from September 1st, 2020. Join them on an amazing, mind-bending adventure that completely changes the lives of these two boys, the lives of their families and friends, and even the world as a whole…Chapter 21: "Will you marry me?"
Relationships: Amber Snoeckx/Aaron Jacobs, Jens Stoffels/Lucas van der Heijden, Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans, Zoë Loockx/Senne De Smet
Series: Me and you … in all universes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1747408
Comments: 44
Kudos: 153





	1. Back to school

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will explore an alternate universe, everything up to WTFockdown will remain canon material. Our story starts on September 1st, 2020 and will explore the events in the next approximate 12 months of Robbe and Sander’s lives. 
> 
> I will follow the WTFock format of short date and time-stamped clips that are bundled together in chapters. 
> 
> I am not a native English speaker so I apologize ahead of time for any errors contained in this work. Please let me know if you notice any grammar of spelling mistake and I will fix them. I am also not a technical expert in all subjects discussed in this work, I therefore also apologize for any inaccuracies. For the sake of the story, some real world historical events have been altered.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Tuesday September 1st, 2020**

06:30

The alarm on his phone wakes Robbe up. Fock, 06:30 too early… During the vacation Robbe stayed in bed until at least 08:00. With difficulty he manages to open up his sleepy eyes and turn off the alarm. This night he had dreamt about his vacation with Sander to La Roche-en-Ardenne, a beautiful medieval town in the South of Belgium. Robbe had rented a chalet in the middle of the vast forests that surround the city. It was so beautiful, he and Sander, two weeks together with full privacy. They had visited the famous ruins of the large medieval castle that graced the mountain top, went kayaking in the Ourthe river, spent evenings laying on a blanket outside watching the stars and talking about in how many universes they would be together, and biked in the vast forests that surrounded their chalet. This summer Robbe had also turned 17 and today was his first day of the final year of high school. Robbe had decided that he wanted to do his best this year to get good grades before embarking to college next year. He knew he wanted to study biochemistry and become a researcher who could, hopefully, contribute to the development of new medications… He imagined that maybe one day he would discover a better treatment for bipolar disorder and help his troubled boyfriend. Robbe would do anything for Sander, his soulmate, the sun that illuminated his life. It had been less than a year ago since he first met Sander but already he couldn’t imagine a life without him, not in this universe nor in any other one. Having Sander in his life had become as essential as the ability to breath. 

A ping announced that he had just received a message. It was Sander writing “Slept well?” followed by a kissing emoticon. Upon seeing Sanders message a big smile immediately appeared on Robbe’s face. “Yes, fantastic! I dreamt about our vacation in La Roche”, Robbe wrote back. Sander, his usual teasing self, wrote back “Strange, because we didn’t do a lot of sleeping in La Roche” followed by a winking emoticon. 

Robbe got out of bed and took a short shower. He grabbed one of Sander’s t-shirts that he had left behind last week at Robbe’s place and put it on. The smell of his boyfriend would keep him comfort during his first day back in school. 

“Hi mom”, Robbe said when he walked in the living room. His mom greeting him back before he quickly grabbed some breakfast and went off to school. 

07:53

Robbe arrived, just in time, at the school. His friends were already there. Aaron couldn’t stop talking about how fantastic Amber was and that they had gone on vacation to the sea together this summer. The boys asked Moyo about his vacation. He had gone to Spain on vacation with his parents but the otherwise talkative Moyo suddenly did not seem to be so interested in revealing details about his own vacation. The bell rang announcing the start of the school day stopping further questions. “Saved by the bell” Moyo thought. 

08:02

The first class of Robbe’s day was French, outside of biology his most favourite subject in high school. After all, Robbe’s family was originally from France, moving to Belgium about 150 years ago. And he still had distant relatives that lived in France. When the relationship between his parents was better, a few years ago, they would almost every year go to France on vacation to visit relatives. Robbe liked France, it was a nice country with lots of culture and history. He liked the small villages in the countryside, especially in the south of France where the weather generally was better than in cold and wet Antwerp. 

15:57

“Robbe pay attention!” the teacher screams. In a few minutes the final class of the first day of the new school year will finally be over and Robbe can’t wait for that. He knows that Sander will be waiting for him at the school gate. Finally, the bell rang announcing the end of the school day. Robbe stood up and hurried out. A smile appeared as he could see the bleached head of Sander in the distance. “Hey baby” Sander said but Robbe didn’t take time to answer him. He immediately pressed his lips against his boyfriends mouth. They kissed passionately. While releasing their lips to take a breath, Robbe finally said back “Hi cutie, I missed you”. “Come” Sander said. “What are we going to do?” Robbe questioned. “Surprise” Sander replied while a smile developed on his face. 

16:23

“Close your eyes baby” Sander demanded. Next he took Robbe by his hand and guided him around the corner. “You can open them now” Sander whispered in his boyfriend’s ear. In front of Robbe was a giant mural of the multiverse. “Me and you… 100% forever… in all universes” Sander reminded his sweet boyfriend. Robbe’s thoughts went back to that Friday evening when Sander had first spoken those beautiful words to him. He felt it in every fibre of his body, a burning sensation of unadulterated ecstasy. Sander really was his in all universes… The tsunami of emotions in Robbe’s head caused a tear to appear in his eyes. Sander asked concerned “Are you OK, sweetie?”. “More than OK. It’s a tear of happiness. I am so lucky to have you in my life”, Robbe replied. 

17:11

The two boys arrived at Sander’s home. For its location, centrally in Antwerp, the home was quite spacious. The front façade was painted white and featured large windows that let in the natural light. To any visitor this house was unmistakably Sander’s. The black and white contrasting interior mirrored Sander’s personality and fashion. The only speck of colour was a large oil painting made by Sander depicting an angel flying above a swimming pool at night. Neither of his parents knew the real meaning behind this artwork that hung above the living room sofa. They both were puzzled by its meaning but guessed that it must be an “art thing”, something only initiated art critics would understand. Neither of them had the pretence to think of themselves as an art expert. The modern interior stood in sharp contrast with the antique brown leather books that filled the living room library. Displayed conspicuously in the middle of the library was a first edition copy of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton.  


His mother, Isabelle, was a renowned professor of theoretical physics at the University of Antwerp. Her work on p-brane dynamics in anti-de Sitter space-time was considered ground-breaking. Earlier this year King Filip had awarded her the title Viscountess Driesen for her contribution to Belgian science. His father, Charles, was a successful business consultant specialized in biotech M&A. While his parents loved Sander, both were married with their jobs and had little time for each other or for Sander. This had been a contributing factor to his chronic need to feel loved. 

18:32

Sander’s mother arrived home. Very early, as normally she never gets home before 20:00. But today she had left work early because she had promised Sander to have dinner with him and Robbe. However, the workaholic she was, she couldn’t abstain from planning to finish a scientific paper, that she was writing, later that evening. But before that she would take her son and his boyfriend out to her favourite restaurant. Outside of the croques that she made on Sundays to bring the whole family together, there were few occasions that she took the time to cook herself. Often she simply had lunch and dinner at the student restaurant of the university. Sander had learned from an early age to take care of himself. Which often meant having microwave dinners alone.  


Sander’s father was away on yet another business trip to Singapore to help with the acquisition of a biotech company, that had developed a revolutionary new checkpoint inhibitor with very promising results against lung cancer, by a large European pharmaceutical company. So he could, again, not be there this evening. 

“Good evening” Isabelle said with a smile to the two boys. “Hi mom” Sander replied followed by Robbe saying “Hello Isabelle”. Sander’s parents had first been confused about the whole situation after his breakdown last year. Britt had told them that Robbe had messed with their son’s head and caused the breakdown. But after learning the truth and seeing how happy Robbe made their son, Robbe was quickly welcomed in the family. Isabelle almost viewed Robbe as a “second son”. In fact, since the beginning of the year and after the end of the lockdown, Robbe generally stayed over at Sander’s or vice-versa during the weekends and holidays. However, during the school week Robbe’s mum demanded that Robbe would sleep alone at home but she would permit him to hang out a few hours each day with Sander after school. 

“How was your day?” Isabelle asked while putting away her briefcase. “Well, on the first day of school we never get much further than practical info and introductions. So, a bit boring.” Robbe admitted. Sander, who still had vacation, said “I had quite some inspiration today and made multiple sketches”. “Mijn kunstenaar” Robbe said with a seductive smile. Sanders puppy eyes looked at Robbe. With these two words Robbe always succeeded to make Sander’s heart melt for him. He grabbed Robbe by his t-shirt and pulled him closer followed by lips meeting each other. A shiver went to the whole body of both boys. Their heart rate increased, their skin started to glow with heat. Every kiss, since their first one, had always been a Chernobyl. Isabelle saw it all happen and couldn’t help but notice just how different this was compared to when Sander dated Britt. After just a few weeks Sander’s love for Britt had already declined to the point that kissing had become an obligation rather than an act of joy. And even then it was mostly Britt who initiated the kissing. The vibe given off by Britt during kissing was one of possession. She considered Sander to be a trophy and kissed him to show others that he was hers. That she had the best looking boyfriend in town. Sander had hated it. Her possessiveness, her commandeering, and above all her belittling of him. But at the time he felt that this was the best he could hope for in life. In all other universes he would be lonely, never loved by anyone. Here he had at least Britt who considered him her trophy. She would stay with him no matter what he went through, thus offering a safe harbour to retreat to when his head was spinning. Like he did after that horrible night last year… 

18:51

The three arrived at the picturesque small, family-owned, Piedmontese (region in Northwest Italy) restaurant located not far from the skatepark where the broerrrs always hang out. Robbe had walked passed this restaurant many times but he had never gone inside. The inside walls were bare red bricks, graced by multiple paintings depicting various landscape and city scenes from around Italy: the Porta Palatina from Turin, the fields from Tuscany, the canals of Venice, and the streets of Florence. The trio sat down and virtually immediately a waiter brought them the drink and menu cards. Sander recommended that Robbe should try the Risotto al Barolo as the first course, followed by Vitello tonnato as a second course, and a Bonèt as dessert. Robbe knew that his boyfriend had exceptional taste in everything so without any doubt he decided to follow Sander’s suggestions. 

20:17

After a delicious meal and lots of pleasant conversation it was time for Robbe to go home. Next day was another early school day. Robbe thanked Sander and his mother for the dinner invitation and after kissing his boyfriend goodbye Robbe left.


	2. Jana’s goodbye…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time had come for Jana to move to NY...

**Friday September 4th, 2020**

16:00

“Finally, the first week of school is over” Robbe thought. Despite spending a couple of hours each day after school together with Sander, he still felt that this was insufficient to quench his thirst for Sander. Today during history class they had discussed the Greek gods and Robbe couldn’t help but think that even Apollo would be jealous at Sander’s beauty. Robbe still couldn’t believe it, this perfect boy was his. How did he ever deserve Sander? As Robbe walked out he could see that Sander was already waiting for him outside of the school gates. Seeing him caused an immediate smile on Robbe’s face. Sander always did that to him. In the last year he had probably smiled more in a single week than he usually smiled in a year…  


“Hi baby” Sander said excited. “Hi cutie” Robbe replied before giving Sander a dazzling kiss. Robbe wrapped his arms around Sander’s head and started to play with the string of his hoody while they were kissing. Both boys exchanged multiple “I love you’s” without separating their lips from each other, speaking inside each other’s mouths. The other broerrrs had also come outside but decided to give Robbe and Sander some privacy first. When the kissing finally stopped the broerrrs joined Robbe and Sander. Sander had officially become part of the broerrrs months ago. Tonight they will go to a party together, hosted at Jana’s place, but before that they were going to hang out together at Jens’ place. 

16:42

The broerrrs arrived at Jens’ place. His mother wasn’t home and his father was gone for work to the Netherlands so the boys had the house for themselves. Jens got the beer from the fridge and took it upstairs to his room. 

Once inside his room, Jens gave out the beer to all the boys but Aaron refused. “You’re not drinking?” Jens asked surprised. “No, after that end of the summer party where I got completely wasted Amber told me that I should restraint myself more”, Aaron explained. “She really has you on a leash” Moyo laughed. Jens, in an effort to avoid the subject Amber, turned to Moyo and asked “What did I hear Moyo, you had a summer love?” Jens was rapidly becoming known as the ‘gossip girl’ of the broerrrs. “What???” Robbe shouted surprised. Because while Moyo couldn’t stop talking about girls, he never seemed to be able to get a girlfriend. “Yeah, I met an Australian girl in Spain where I was on vacation with my parents. We had a short relationship but it could never work out because she lives at the opposite side of the world.” Moyo said with a sad face. Suddenly out of the blue, Aaron changed the subject of the conversation “Have you guys heard about how protestors broke into the French parliament today? Ever since…” But he was interrupted by an annoyed Robbe who snapped back “Yes, Aaron!”. The broerrrs noticed Robbe’s irritation but they couldn’t understand it. Nevertheless, Aaron, in his not so usual self, decided to drop the conversation and go back to the previous one, “So, you had sex with her?”. “Aaron dude”, Jens said annoyed, “you really have a weird fascination with the sex life of your friends”. “Yes, we did” Moyo replied. He never was the shy one among the broerrrs. “High five!” Aaron yelled while reaching out with his hand. Moyo gave Aaron a high five, while Robbe, Jens, and Sander erupted in laughter at the strange spectacle. 

The broerrrs started to play Call of duty. First, Jens would play against Moyo. While the two boys where playing, Robbe sat down on Sander’s lap with his face towards Sander’s. Sander wrapped his arms around Robbe and inhaled the delicious sweet smell of his boyfriend. Robbe’s smell would drive Sander crazy, it was like pure heroin. After staring each other in the eyes for a few seconds and exchanging ‘I love you’s’ the two boys started kissing. Robbe pushed his fingers through Sander’s hair. God he loved that bleach blond hair. Their intimate moment was suddenly broken by Moyo who instructed them “Stop eating each other! It’s your turn Robbe to play against me” while he gave the controller to Robbe. While Robbe and Moyo were playing, Aaron asked Jens “Do you have weed?”. Jens threw an angry look at Aaron in response. Sander noticed it and remarked “It’s fine, really, you don’t have to hide it to prevent tempting me”. Earlier this year both Sander and Robbe had stopped using because it could be a trigger for Sander’s episodes. “Robbe is the only drug I am currently addicted to” Sander said with a smirk on his face. This made Robbe blush. 

19:55

The broerrrs arrived at Jana’s place. It was a sad moment really, Jana had organized the party to say goodbye to all her friends as she was about to leave to New York with her mother next week. Jens pushed the doorbell and moments later Jana opened the door. “Hello Jana!” the broerrrs said simultaneously. “Come in” Jana commanded. They were among the first guests at the party. Only Amber, Luca, Yasmina, and Zoë had been there already. As soon as the broerrrs came in Amber stood up from the sofa and walked towards Aaron before hugging him. The broerrrs left to the kitchen and got themselves some beers. Aaron was sticking to his promise to Amber and took a cola instead. The bell rang again. It was Senne who had just arrived with Milan and another boy that nobody seemed to know. Earlier this year Senne and Zoë had come back together after their break up last year. They had decided that they would take things slower… They would not try to live together anymore. Senne loved hanging out with his friends at parties but when he got home he unwillingly woke up Zoë every time causing her to be annoyed at him. Living apart had been much better for them. They still spend a lot of time together and often slept together but when Senne planned to go to parties he would always return to his own home. 

Milan walked over to Robbe and Sander and said hello. “This is Jonathan”, Milan said. Clearly the unknown boy was a hook-up of Milan. Milan had found him on Grindr yesterday. When Robbe was still living at the flat share and especially after he had come out to Milan, Milan had annoyed him on a regular basis by asking his opinion on one of the Grindr profiles that had drawn his attention. Robbe couldn’t understand Milan’s behaviour. Surely having a boyfriend that you can connect to a on deep level, that you can tell your deepest feelings and emotions to, someone who will always be there when you need a listening ear and/or a shoulder to cry on should, in Robbe’s opinion, trump any satisfaction that could be obtained from one-night stands. He wished that one day Milan would find someone like Sander, someone who would make Milan feel like Robbe felt. A feeling of eternal bliss. Milan deserved that! Robbe and Sander greeted Jonathan back but things were a bit awkward... Neither boy could think of a topic for conversation with Jonathan… Eventually it was Milan who told his hook-up “Let’s leave the two love birds alone” before taking Jonathan with him to the dance floor. 

More people started to arrive at the party and soon the party really erupted. 'Tones and I" from Dance Monkey started to play, causing nearly everyone present to start dancing. Not everyone, as some were just kissing on the dance floor. The last category included Sander and Robbe. They generally didn’t dance but just kissed on the dance floor during parties. Well, one could consider them kissing and hugging to be a form of dancing… Robbe was really a koala, he couldn’t keep his hands off Sander. Whenever he saw the opportunity he would wrap his arms around his boyfriend. Sander didn’t mind this attached behaviour, he loved it! After feeling lonely for the first nineteen years of his life he no longer had that feeling. Robbe made him feel loved every second of every day. 

One person was notably absent from Jana’s party, to the great relief of Robbe. He had no intention of being with Sander and Britt in the same room again. It was bad enough that they saw each other at school but luckily she always made sure to stay several meters away and both of them could comfortably ignore each other’s existence. 

23:37

“Ready?” Sander asked Robbe. “You already want to go? The night is still young.” Robbe replied. Sander leaned in to Robbe’s ear in a gesture of trying to convey a more private message. However this gesture was unnecessary as the loud music would anyway have prevented anyone from eavesdropping on their conversation. “I am not talking about sleeping” Sander said. “Sander!” Robbe said in a tone of faked indignation. Sander knew his boy well, inside Robbe enjoyed every time that Sander did dirty talk. It had become part of their foreplay. Sander would start making suggestions about having sex. Robbe would fake that he didn’t like it, that he thought it inappropriate to mention such things. They would keep doing this, gradually building up the sexual tension between them. Words would lead to touching, stroking, and kissing… They would gradually start to get undressed and eventually it would lead to sex. Astonishing, mind-blowing sex! 

The two boys said bye to their friends and walked over to Jana. “I am going to miss you” Robbe said with sadness in his voice. “I’ll miss you too” Jana replied and she hugged Robbe. She noticed that Robbe was a bit emotional about the goodbye so she told him “It’s a goodbye Robbe, not a farewell. I will come back at least once or twice a year to visit relatives and so we will see each other again”. “I know Robbe said… Well, safe travel and I wish you the best of luck.” “Thanks, I also wish you the best of luck” Jana said before turning to Sander and saying goodbye to him. “Take good care of each other” Jana spoke to the two boys. They kissed each other as a non-verbal reply and then it was time to go…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to "We Are The Future" by TotallyTinkerbell for coming up with Jonathan as the boyfriend of Milan.


	3. May I take this picture of you?

**Saturday September 5th, 2020**

00:21

Finally home! Robbe and Sander had had to exercise every inch of restraint on their way home as Sander had already started the foreplay at the party by talking dirty to Robbe. As soon as the two boys got into Sander’s bedroom Robbe pulled Sander's t-shirt off and started to kiss him. First on his mouth before moving down to his neck, then his collarbone, and finally further down to his nipple. Sander loved nipple play, it completely turned him on. “Fuck, I want you so badly” Sander said. “Come and get me then” Robbe said while he let loose of Sander and started to walk to the bathroom. Sander immediately followed. The last pieces of clothing got discarded when the boys entered the bathroom and they quickly moved into the shower together. The hot water danced on their skins as they kissed each other with full passion. If a kiss felt like Chernobyl than having sex felt like a supernova explosion. They knew each other’s bodies so well that they instinctively touched each other’s’ most sensitive spots in the most perfect manner. They kissed and stroked every spot on each other’s bodies. Every touch stimulated all of their senses, every nerve in their bodies was on fire. Waves of pleasure surged through their bodies. Robbe went down on Sander who started to moan in absolute ecstasy…

02:14

The boys finally made it to bed... Sander was laying with his head on Robbe’s chest, his eyes looking at the beautiful face of his muse while with his hand he was playing with the angel medallion on the necklace of Robbe. Sander could hear Robbe’s heart beating, the most beautiful sound in the world in his opinion. No David Bowie song could even compare to the sound of Robbe’s heart. It always calmed Sander down when he was feeling anxious or sad. 

“We should sleep. Tomorrow we need to get up in time to go to the photography museum”, Robbe said. Photography was one of Sander’s passions and he was so glad he could take Robbe to his favourite museum to show him all of the amazing art. In less than a year Robbe had gone from a noob in the art world to quite the expert himself. Not quite in making art himself but in understanding art. But then again, with an amazing teacher as Sander on ones side everyone would soon become an expert. Sander smiled and moved his body up so that Robbe could turn and lay on his side. Sander also turned on his side and wrapped his arm around Robbe. “Goodnight baby” Sander said. “Goodnight sweetie” Robbe replied. And moments later they were both asleep. 

09:00

Robbe woke up to the sound of his alarm but found himself alone in the bed. Sander was gone. What had happened? Despite everything, moments like these still scared Robbe. However, before Robbe could get out of bed to look for his boyfriend the door opened. “Breakfast is served” Jack Frost said as he walked in the room carrying a breakfast tray. It never seized to amaze Robbe how much effort his boyfriend took to always ensure that Robbe had everything he needed to be happy. Robbe inspected the tray and saw fresh croissants, coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, strawberries, and a collection of toppings. Sander had even managed to find a red rose which he had placed in a tiny vase to decorate the breakfast tray. Robbe smiled and said “Thank you sweetheart. I love you” to which Sander replied “Love you too baby”. Sander grabbed a strawberry and moved it to Robbe’s mouth. Robbe ate it. Hmmm, it tasted deliciously sweet. Before Robbe know it, he found Sander’s lips pressed against him. Sander tasted the sweet strawberry flavour that still lingered in Robbe’s mouth. “I wish we could have breakfast like this every day” Robbe stated. “Once we live together, we will!” Sander stated with hope and longing for when that moment would come… 

10:07

After breakfast and a shower together the two boys made their way downstairs. “Your mum is not home?” Robbe asked with some surprise though deep down after staying over so often he already knew that Isabelle worked most Saturdays. “Nope, she left early this morning for a one day symposium in Brussels on string theory. She’s one of the speakers and won’t be home until late this evening. As usual…” Sander spoke with sadness. He really wished his mom would take more time off from work. “But…” Sander added in a more cheerful voice “tomorrow morning my dad will be back and my mum will make croques for the four of us”. Robbe really had become part of the family, a thought that filled his heart with bliss. 

11:16

The two boys arrived at the photography museum. Sander was immediately excited to show one of his favourite places in Antwerp to his boyfriend. But before going inside he took Robbe to the ‘Waterpoort’ (Water gate), one of the remaining city gates of Antwerp, located just across from the museum. Sander said “Allee poseer!” while he took his camera out of his backpack. Moments later he had found the right angle and snapped a picture of his angel. Later he will make a black and white version of the pic and upload it on his Instagram. But now it was time to get inside the museum. “Hello Sander” the museum desk employee said when they walked in. Clearly Sander visited the museum so often that they already knew him there. “Did you know that the museum has a collection of nearly 3 million pieces” Sander said with wonder in his voice. “And did you know that they also publish two magazines: .tiff and Trigger. I was last year, just before we met, lucky enough that Trigger featured one of my pictures” Sander said with pride. “Oh no, I didn’t know that yet. Congratulations Sweetie” Robbe said with full pride. Robbe knew just how talented Sander was and he knew that Sander was going to achieve greatness with his art. Sander first took Robbe to the new exposition with work from Stephan Vanfleteren. This Belgian photographer is known for his black and white portraits, so no wonder that Sander loved his work. Robbe patiently listened with full attention to the art critics that Sander made about each piece. Sander was feeling in heaven, the only thing he liked more than art was his Robbe and now he was combining his two greatest passions by showing his angel around in the photography museum. 

13:51

The two boys left the museum. Robbe had loved every second of their visit. Watching the passion in his boyfriend as he was talking about the pieces, that alone was priceless. As they were looking around for a place to grab a late lunch a ping from both their cell phones attracted their attention. It was the broerrrs chat that had come alive:

Jens: [Anyone up for a vlog?]

Moyo: [Count me in!]

Aaron: [Yep, me too. Amber is off shopping and she prefers to do that with her female friends so I have the whole afternoon free] 

Jens: [Remember, we already had a challenge about making our own rap songs. Well maybe this time we should just sing an existing song and the one who sings best wins…]

Aaron: [Wins what???]

Moyo: [Basically karaoke] 

Jens: [Yep]

Jens: [Hmmm, the others pay for his dinner? We could go and have pizza together after we’re done with the vlog]

Robbe was not very much in the mood for a vlog and especially not if he was expected to sing. But before Robbe could speak Sander had already replied on the broerrrs chat. 

Sander: [Sounds great, me and Robbe are first getting something to eat… Where do we meet?]

Jens: [At my place, if that’s OK?]

Sander: [Perfect, we’ll be there at 15:00]

“Sander!” Robbe spoke irritated, “Why did you drag us into one of these stupid vlogs?” “Could be nice” Sander replied, “Singing a Bowie song and having the others have to pay for my dinner…”. “Well, in that case I would be one of those others…” Robbe said trying to sound annoyed but he couldn’t. He actually had started to rethink his original opinion. Hearing Sander sing Bowie was not a bad way to spend the afternoon… 

15:14

The broerrrs were ready to start their vlog. 

Jens was the first one to perform. He started singing ‘The Weeknd’ from Blinding Lights and he nearly nailed it. Except for losing his text once the performance had been excellent. 

Next Moyo tried to rap but the result was hilarious and he didn’t score high points. He had often lost the text of the song he had chosen resulting in him singing improvised lyrics that often didn’t make sense. Moyo was annoyed when the boys gave their verdict of his performance. “Let’s see if you can do better!” he snapped at Aaron. 

Aaron was next, he had chosen to sing “Hopeloos en verloren”, a song by the Belgian singer ‘Dana Winner’. The boys were looking in complete disbelief as Aaron was starting to sing this surprising choice. Aaron trying to sing high enough while mimicking a female voice turned this into one of the weirdest things the boys had ever witnessed. Moyo kept repeating “WTFock!” as he watched Aaron’s performance. After finishing his song Aaron said “Yeah, Amber loves Dana Winner and this is one of her favourite songs… So, I chose this one”. All the boys erupted in laughter. “Dude really, you sounded like a pig that is going to get slaughtered…” Jens said. “You were completely out of tune… Correction, I mean there was no tune in it at all” Jens continued. Aaron said “Let’s see what Robbe and Sander will do” in an effort to stop the laughing and criticism of his performance. 

“Oké!” Robbe said in his typical manner. Robbe had chosen ‘Rebel Rebel’ from David Bowie. Sander knew that Robbe chose this one because it reminded him about their first meeting in that supermarket. As he was singing “Hot tramp, I love you so!” he looked straight into Sander’s eyes. Sander completely melted… He loved his boy so much. The boys all agreed that Robbe had done an excellent job. He was currently in first place. 

Finally, Sander had chosen to sing ‘Under Pressure’ from David Bowie together with Queen, so he grabbed the plastic bottle that had to stand in for the microphone and started to sing: “Under pressure pushing down on me… Pressing down on you, no man ask for…”. The boys agreed that Sander’s performance was perfection and consequently, he was crowned winner of the contest. Robbe was second, followed by Jens, then Moyo and finally at the bottom Aaron. In contrast to the others Sander had never sung out of tune or forgotten the lyrics of the song. Well, almost never Jens pointed out because Sander had wrongly added the word “under” in front of the first sentence. Sander let out an exasperated sigh. How could Jens believe that he would ever make such a mistake? He knew the lyrics of every Bowie song by heart. Yes, he had made this mistake at the sea when he was cooking with Robbe. But you couldn’t blame him for that… Meeting Robbe had had such an effect on his brain that he couldn’t think clearly anymore. He had shocked himself when he got that line wrong. But now the modified version of this song had turned into ‘their’ song. Today, the ‘mistake’ in the lyrics was completely intended. 

18:34

The broerrrs arrived at the pizza restaurant. They chose a table near the entrance and virtually instantly a waiter came to take the boys order. They knew the place well so they didn’t have to think about what they wanted to order. Jens said to the waiter: “We’ll take three large pizza’s to share: a four cheese, a Hawaiian, and a prosciutto. We also take one cola each”. After the waiter had left Aaron curiously asked “When did you first bleach your hair?” “Just after graduating high school. I had wanted to do it since I was sixteen or so but I didn’t have the guts to do it. Some people at my high school were really nasty and they would have picked on me for doing that, I know they would…” Sander explained, “Leaving high school and starting art academy had been so liberating. I finally was able to be who I really am”. Robbe couldn’t believe that anyone would dislike Sander’s bleached hair. It was, in his opinion, the best part of Sander’s physical appearance. He loved that bleached hair so much! But he also knew how daunting it could be to come out for who you really are in high school. He would definitely not blame Sander for hiding his real self. Moyo and Aaron were both feeling guilty, as they remembered how they had made Robbe feel… But neither boy wanted to bring that back up again so they hide away the sorry look on their faces.


	4. We’re not waiters, but boy can we serve!

**Sunday September 6th, 2020**

08:00 

Robbe and Sander woke up, they were laying intertwined in bed. Instinctively, even during sleep, the two boys could not keep their hands off each other and they would often wake up in various intertwined positions. 

After showering and getting dressed the two boys went downstairs to the living room. The smell of croques filled the air. Sander got all excited, he loved these Sunday mornings. “Hi dad” Sander said when he saw his dad sitting at the dining table. His dad had just gotten home minutes earlier from the airport. He looked tired from the long flight home. “Hello son” his dad replied. “Hi Charles” Robbe said. “Hi, my future son in law” said a cheeky Charles back. His dad didn’t know that Sander had already made a quasi-proposal to Robbe in the hotel room last year. Sander’s mom brought the croques to the table and the four started to eat. “You like them?” Isabelle asked Robbe. “Yes, they are nearly as good as Sander’s” Robbe replied with a mischievous smile. This caused both Sander and Isabelle to start laughing. After all, Isabelle lacked the critical ingredient to make “the best croque ever”. The secret was that it had to be Sander who put the croque in Robbe’s mouth while staring with his emerald green eyes directly into Robbe’s brown eyes. The next moment the trail of thoughts in Sander’s head was interrupted when he saw his mother taking her notebook and starting to scribble down some equations. Why did she have to ruin such a perfect moment by getting back to work Sander questioned. “I don’t start sketching at the breakfast table either” Sander said in an annoyed voice to his mum. “Sorry sweetie. I just had a new idea… I am sorry, I shouldn’t be focussed on work now” she replied while putting away her notebook. While his dad wasn’t as rude, he too was day dreaming about spreadsheets with financial information from yesterdays meeting. 

“Ready?” Sander asked his cute boyfriend. “What are you going to do?” Isabelle questioned her son. “Paying tennis” Sander replied with a big smile on his face. Ever since the end of the lockdown Sander and Robbe had routinely started to play tennis with each other in the local tennis club. 

09:48

The two boys went to Sander’s room to get changed and collect their rackets and balls. While getting ready Sander mind went back to what happened during breakfast. His biggest fear was that Robbe would end up as a workaholic, just like his parents, never having time for his boyfriend. He didn’t even have to say a word. Robbe knew Sander so well he could see what was troubling his boyfriend. “Sander, you will always come first. I promise!” Robbe said in a voice that stressed that he meant every word of it. And while Sander kept feeling this underlaying insecurity he also knew that his angel would never break a promise that he made to him. Robbe was so precious, he always placed Sander first. 

10:53

The two boys arrived at the tennis club. “I am going to beat you” Robbe stated confidently. “You wish Mr. Ijzermans!” Sander replied. “We both know I am the better tennis player” Robbe answered. “You know what, let’s make a bet” Sander grimed. “Ok! What does the winner get?” Robbe asked. “That’s decided by the winner. So, that will be me” Sander stated confidently. “Fuck you, I am going to beat your ass” Robbe stated. 

11:47

Sander had won the game with two sets versus one set by Robbe. “Do you have my balls?” Sander asked Robbe with a sneaky smirk on his face. Robbe understood the double meaning and knew that Sander had started their typical foreplay again. “Nope, check your backpack” Robbe replied with a mischievous smile on his face. 

After they collected their gear together the two boys went to the dressing room. The tennis club had individual clothing rooms that each had their own private shower. A feature that Robbe and Sander really appreciated about this club. “I’ve won, so I get to collect my prize now” Sander told Robbe. “And what do I own you?” Robbe asked. Sander didn’t have to say anything, he just turned his head in the direction of the shower and Robbe understood exactly what Sander’s prize was. The two boys got naked and went into the shower. The walls and the sound of the shower always ensured that other club members were blissfully unaware of what was happening in the dressing room that Sander and Robbe used…

13:05

The boys finally emerged from their dressing room. Robbe had a stomach rumble reminding him that it was getting time to find something to eat. Sander too was getting hungry after burning so many calories… He had burned more calories in the shower than on the tennis court… “We could go to the nearby fast-food restaurant?” Sander suggested. “Perfect”, Robbe said, “I can use some calories after our game”. Sander smiled. 

Once in the fast-food restaurant the two boys put their order into the self-order computer displays and went to sit down at a table. “Any plans for tomorrow?” Robbe asked. “In fact I have. Last week a guy contacted me to paint a portrait of his daughter as a gift for her sixteenth birthday” Sander said, “And the best part is, he will pay me €1,500 for it!”. “Wow!” Robbe said completely surprised. “He saw my work at an exhibition and he really liked it” Sander explained. “I like your work too” Robbe said with a smile. “I know you do, baby” Sander said, “You’re the subject of nearly every non-commissioned work I make”. “Stop making me sound so vain!” Robbe exclaimed. He knew Sander was just teasing him. Sander really loved teasing his boyfriend. He had done so from the first moment they ever spoke to each other. Finally, the food arrived at their table and the two starved boys started to eat immediately. 

15:16

The two boys got back at Sander’s home. Robbe wanted to do some revision for school and there was no place better to do that than in Sander’s studio. The place made Robbe relax instantaneously as he walked in. Robbe had come to associate the typical smell of an art studio with Sander and so this smell was intoxicating to Robbe. Sander was an single child and the large Driesen house had space enough so that one of the bedrooms was converted into an art studio for Sander. In that way he did not have to sleep in a room that smelled like paint and thinner. 

Robbe sat down in the sofa, took his school books out of his backpack and started to study while Sander took his painting supplies. He had decided that he would make a painting of Robbe studying. He had pained Robbe many times but never while he was studying, so this was a new subject to add to his growing collection of Robbe paintings. He would never sell any of his Robbe paintings and so they started to accumulate and take up space… His mum had suggested to move some of them to the attic but Sander had forcefully protested. He wanted to keep all the paintings of Robbe close to him so he could look at them every day.


	5. Grit your teeth, it will ‘only’ last 30 hours…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: homophobia 
> 
> This chapter was written on May 17th, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

**Saturday September 12th, 2020**

08:00

Robbe’s alarm woke him and Sander up. Shit, Robbe thought, he had dreaded this day for the last week and now it had finally arrived… His father had invited him to come over and stay there for one night. Since his dad had left his mum, Robbe had only met him a few times and all those times his dad had been the one to come over to Antwerp. What made things much worse is that he would meet his dad’s new girlfriend for the first time. He really didn’t want to do this to Sander but he had no choice, Robbe knew that without Sander by his side he might not get through the next day so he had reluctantly asked him to come with him. Sander had briefly met Robbe’s dad a few times before but they were still pretty much strangers to each other. This was going to become a very uncomfortable weekend… 

10:38

The two boys arrived in the train station ‘Gent Sint Pieters’ where Robbe’s dad Louis was waiting for them. The boys greeted him and got into his car for the short drive to the house of his girlfriend. 

As Robbe approached the house of his dad’s girlfriend his worst fears were confirmed. His dad had left his mum in search for someone who was more well to do. She lived in a giant white villa build in International Style located in Sint-Martens-Latem, one of the richest municipalities of Belgium just a few kilometre away from the city of Gent. 

Louis’ new girlfriend was the wealthy heiress Marie countess de Beauchamp. She had met Louis at a gala diner organized by the company that she owned. Louis worked as lawyer for the law firm that represented Marie’s company. Louis had been immediately enchanted by her beauty. She was tall and slender, with shoulder’s long wavy blond hair, hazel brown eyes, and voluptuous lips on which she always wore bright red lipstick. 

They arrived at the home and the two boys walked inside. Marie was sitting in the sofa drinking a cup of coffee. “There you are” she said, “You must be Robbe?” “Yes, nice to meet you madam” Robbe said. Then she turned to Sander and she said “Hello dear”. “I am Sander, Robbe’s boyfriend” he said, “Nice to meet you. You have a beautiful home, madam”. “But if I may be so bold, I think it’s missing some art pieces. I can introduce you to the work of some good artists, if you like…” Sander said. Marie shrugged and coldly replied “Art is a waste of money”. This statement made Sander’s blood boil but he grit his teeth and maintained his calm outwards appearance. Robbe felt sick to his stomach, he was so sorry for bringing his boyfriend here. 

In the mean time Louis had parked the car in the garage and had now joined the others. “There you are darling” Marie said, “I have to leave you now, I have an appointment with the hairdresser.” She kissed Louis and then left. Both boys were relieved that she was gone. Not only because of the remark she had made but also because both had picked up on the vibe that she gave off. It made Sander think of Britt, the same kind of possessiveness, commandeering, and belittlement combined with a massive ego. 

Louis asked the boys if they wanted to drink something. Both had agreed to a cola and a couple of minutes later the trio was sitting together in the sofa. “How is school going?” Louis asked. “Well, we’ve just started… Good so far. I am studying hard to be prepared for collage next year.” Robbe said. “So, have you already decided what you will study?” his father asked. “Yes, biochemistry at the University of Antwerp. Sander’s mum is a professor in physics there.” Robbe said. “That’s nice. You’ve always liked sciences in school so I think you will do good studying biochemistry” his dad said. “And what about you Sander?” he asked. “Well, college hasn’t started yet but I am looking forward to my second year. As second year students we are allowed to enter a competition. The student who makes the best set of pieces then wins a free trip to Paris to visit the Louvre, Maison européenne de la photographie, Musée d'Orsay, Musée de l'Orangerie,…” Sander said. He couldn’t finish the list of museums because he was forced to catch his breath. Thinking about it had made him so excited that he had been talking without taking pauses to breath. “That sounds wonderful” Louis said, “I hope you win!”. 

19:16

The four were having dinner. They had just finished a smoked salmon salad and now the main was being served: venison with wild mushrooms and pommes dauphine. The maid entered the room carrying a crystal decanter containing the red Bordeaux wine for the main dish. Suddenly she tripped over a ripple in the carpet and she fell on the floor, the decanter in shattered in a thousand pieces. Robbe got up and walked to the unfortunate lady. “You’re hurt?” he asked as he helped her get up. “My decanter! My wine!” Marie shouted in absolute horror. “This is it!” she snapped, “You’re fired!” “We’ll go to the city tomorrow and buy you a new decanter, my dear” Louis tried to calm her down. “Yes, we have no other choice, do we? Next Wednesday, mademoiselle Dubois is coming for dinner. I can already hear her remarks: “Too stingy to buy a new decanter or is the money up, my dear?” So, yeah, we must go to the city tomorrow despite my plans to go to the beauty salon instead. What a horrible day!” Robbe couldn’t stand Marie’s behaviour so he decided to speak up “Accidents can happen to everyone, this lady just tripped over the carpet. She hurt her arm so maybe we should care about her instead of the decanter?” Marie was furious by Robbe’s remarks. “When I am speaking children must be silent!” she snapped. 

After the dinner had finished, Robbe told his dad that he felt tired and wanted to go to bed. This was obviously a lie but he didn’t want to spend more time with Marie in the same room anymore. Sander said that he was going to bed too. “Let me show you the way” Louis said. He took the two boys upstairs and pointed to two bedrooms. “We sleep together” Robbe said. “I know” his dad replied, “But Marie would feel uncomfortable about that. She prefers if you take separate rooms.” Robbe was getting more annoyed by the second but decided to let it go. He hated having arguments. He had witnessed too many of them between his dad and mum, so reluctantly he accepted to sleep apart. Sander saw the look in Robbe’s eyes, he felt the same. He thought that Robbe should stand up for himself more but it wasn’t his place to argue with Robbe’s father and his new girlfriend so he gave in as well. 

**Sunday September 13th, 2020**

08:04

The four were having breakfast together. An uncomfortable silence was hanging in the room as there was clear hostility between Marie and the boys. Suddenly Marie asked Robbe: “So, have you ever had a girlfriend?”. What an inappropriate question Robbe though as he was sitting here with his boyfriend. “Sander is his boyfriend” his dad reminded her. “Yeah yeah, I know children like to experiment…” she stated. Robbe couldn’t believe his ears, he was furious beyond words. “Sander is not an experiment!” he snapped. “When you’ve met the appropriate girl you will leave this juvenile behaviour behind and become a real man” Marie said. This had been the final straw, he couldn’t stand being in that home for one second longer. “Come Sander, we are out of here” he demanded. As the two boys left they heard Marie tell his father: “You really should teach your son some manners.” 

The two boys were walking away from the villa but Louis ran behind them. “Sorry” he yelled at Robbe and Sander, “Let me please offer you a lift to the station”. “No dad!” Robbe yelled back, “Coming here was a mistake, we’ll take the bus!”. “I am so so sorry that I dragged you here” Robbe said with sadness in his eyes to his boyfriend. “Hey, it’s not your fault that she’s so nasty” Sander replied. “Actually, I am glad I was here. That you didn’t have to go through this alone” Sander said. Robbe didn’t know what to say, he was so lucky to have such a wonderful boyfriend so he used the language that they used when words failed them… He grasped Sander and kissed him deep. “I love you so much!” Robbe said from the depth of his heart. “I also love you so much baby!” Sander replied.


	6. A perfect wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sander and Robbe get married??? Wait, not yet…

**Monday September 21st, 2020**

06:15 

The alarm woke Sander up. Shit, he thought, the sound of the alarm had ended his beautiful dream. He had dreamt about marrying Robbe. It was so perfect, both him and Robbe were wearing a white suit and drove to the beautiful Renaissance-style city hall of Antwerp in a white Tesla. The wedding feast had taken place in the art academy, in ‘OUR’ place. It was such a beautiful dream and Sander was so annoyed that his alarm had destroyed it. “Stupid school” he loudly exclaimed… to nobody as he was alone in his bedroom. 

Today was the first day of school for Sander, his second year at the art academy. He already knew that for the course on model drawing he was going to have to make a large portrait. There was no doubt on his mind, Robbe was going to his model. His muse had always inspired his best art pieces like the mural he had used to express his love to Robbe. Though, no matter how hard he tried he always got disappointed with his failure to completely capture Robbe’s beauty on the canvas. 

06:45

As Sander got down to get breakfast his mum was already getting ready to leave. Today it was also the first day of the new academic year for her. At 08:00 she would teach the course quantum field theory to the first year master students. “Good morning my boy” Isabelle said. “Hi mum” Sander replied. “Excited to go back to the academy?” his mum questioned. “Of course!” sander stated with joy. The anger about waking from his dream had already been left behind in the past. His mother was happy to see that her son had found something that he liked so much. Even through she felt that art was more of a hobby than an occupation. When Sander was in primary school his mum already gave him all the books that Stephen Hawking had ever written. She had known professor Hawking personally from her graduate studies at Cambridge and he had dictated a personal message to his secretary to write on the inside cover of each of the books for Sander. There she had also met Sander’s dad, Charles, who was majoring in business. She had become pregnant of Sander during the last year of her doctorate and to everybody’s amazement she combined the last months of pregnancy and being a new mum with her postdoctoral studies at CERN. But despite her efforts, Sander didn’t like equations. What he liked is the ability to take a white canvas and transform it into something that makes people grasp for air when they see it. Something that could move people so much that they spontaneously let a tear run down, like Robbe had done when Sander showed him his latest mural. Touching people’s heart, that was Sander’s passion and joy. 

08:00

The first class of the day started. “Hello everyone, welcome to art theory 1900 to 1950” professor Verhelst said. “I always like to start the first class of the semester by asking some questions to understand what you already know about the subject at hand. So, who can give me an example of an Belgian representative of the art nouveau style?” professor Verhelst asked the class. Sander immediately put up his hand. “Yes, young man” the professor said. “Sander” he stated, “Henry Van de Velde”. Sander had clearly inherited his parents intelligence and even before starting his studies at the academy he already had a nearly encyclopaedic knowledge of art history and theory. “Very good Sander” the professor said. “And did you know that Henry Van de Velde was a student here”, the professor was clearly proud of this fact. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp was founded in 1664 and this made it the fourth oldest art academy in Europe, so a little pride about its famous alumni was in order. One day Sander would join the list of illustrious alumni, but that’s getting ahead of ourselves, for now he was just a second year student…

17:15

When Sander walked out of the academy he was surprised to see Robbe waiting for him. School had ended at 16:45 but he had stayed behind to talk with Mia, a classmate of him, about a common assignment. As he had not expected Robbe to meet him there he had not informed him. His angel must have been waiting there patiently for half an hour. Sander felt so sorry but Robbe didn’t seem to mind. As soon as he saw Sander walking out his eyes lit up and a massive smile appeared on his face. Sander quickly wrapped his arms around Robbe, pulling him closer to give him a kiss. “Hey baby” Sander whispered. “Hi cutie” Robbe replied, “How was your day?”. “Great, it was mostly introductory stuff, as always on a first day of school, but I already started work with Mia on dual assignment.” Sander explained. Before Sander could ask Robbe about his day, Robbe interrupted him and told him that they had to hurry up. Robbe explained that they were expected at 6pm for dinner at a restaurant. So the two boys went off together to the restaurant.

Suddenly, on the way to the restaurant Robbe headed a ping, he had received a message. He took out his phone and saw:

Dad: [I am so sorry for the behaviour of my girlfriend. I have made it very clear to her that she was wrong and that she had no right to treat you like that. And, that I accept you as you are. Can we please talk?]

Robbe thought for a moment about it and then decided to simply ignore his dad. He was going to a dinner with Sander and he had was not going to ruin today by being reminded about that horrible weekend… “What’s wrong baby?” Sander asked. “Just my dad with a lame excuse for…” Robbe replied. “Your dad was supportive from the start so maybe you shouldn’t blame him for the behaviour of his girlfriend…” Sander spoke, but he realized as he was saying it that he shouldn’t have. This clearly made Robbe annoyed and he snapped “Don’t make their behaviour sound OK! It wasn’t!”. “Sorry baby” Sander said, “I shouldn’t have…”. “Let’s not talk about it anymore and just enjoy our dinner, ok?” Sander continued. “Yes, and sorry Sander. I am just annoyed about my dad and… you know who. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” Robbe apologized. “I know” Sander said and he put his arm around Robbe’s shoulder. 

17:56

They made it perfectly on time to the restaurant. Sander was surprised, he hadn’t expected that Robbe would take him to a three star restaurant tonight. There was, as far as he could remember, no special occasion for them to celebrate. As they walked in the maître d' greeted them and asked if they had a reservation. “Yes, we were invited by…” Robbe tried to say but before he could finish the maître d' already replied “Your table partner is already waiting for you. Let me guide you.”. He walked the two boys to a table in the back of the restaurant. A young guy in a grey pinstriped suit with a plain dark blue tie was already waiting for them. The tie colour perfectly matched those of his eyes. He was quite handsome and had brown curly hair like robbe’s. “This is Sven. He’s a distant relative from France” Robbe said. “Bonjour Sven” Sander said. “Dag Sander. I speak fluent Dutch so no need to have this conversation in French” Sven said with a smile on his face. Sven managed a successful VC fund specialized in seed and early stage funding for technology companies and explained that he had been in Antwerp for some meetings and therefore wanted to catch up with Robbe and his boyfriend. “Robbe has told me a lot about you. Don’t worry, only nice things. It’s amazing to see Robbe so happy. He’s lucky to have you in his life.” Sven said. These words made sander blush a bit but he replied “It’s me who is the lucky one, to have this angel in my life”. Sven couldn’t help but smile at so much love between the two boys. “How is your boyfriend doing?” Robbe asked Sven. “Great, he’s extremely busy though. Just a few weeks ago he has started a new biotech company that is working on the development of new treatments for various diseases caused by protein misfolding such as senile TTR amyloidosis.” They were interrupted by the waiter that brought the aperitive cards but before he had handed them out Sven said “If it’s OK for you two we just get a bottle of champagne for aperitive?” The two boys nodded. Sander was starting to get worried about the bill that would come at the end but Sven had picked up on his worry despite Sander saying nothing. “Don’t worry, it’s on my tab tonight”, he spoke. In the mean time the waiter had returned with the champagne and the three boys raised their glass and said “cheers” before taking a sip. Next, some amuse-gueules were brought to the table. The first one was sous-vide cooked crayfish with a cauliflower puree and the second one consisted of a grilled langoustine with finely diced cooked vegetables and a champagne-based sauce. 

The dinner had been mind-blowing. The chef created flavours that tricked and bended the mind…, in a positive way. However, Robbe if he’s put to the choice would take Sander’s croques over the three star dinner each and every time. That croque at the sea had not just been ‘the best croque ever’ but had been the most delicious thing that Robbe had ever tasted. He could still taste it now, almost a year later… Sure, it had been too hot as it just came out of the frying pan before he had bitten into it. It had slightly burned his tongue. And still it had been the most astonishing food experience in his life. Everything that Sander touched turned into gold, in Robbe’s eyes… 

21:16

Sander got back home. “Good evening son” Isabelle said, “how was your dinner with Robbe?” Sander explained what had happened and that they had eaten in a famous three star restaurant. “How lovely, dear” his mum replied, “Can you sit down for a moment, I have something that I need to talk to you about”. “Sure mum” Sander replied. “So…” she started, “I was recently contacted by a publisher with the question to write a pop-sci book about physics. I accepted the request and I think I am going to call my book ‘The beauty of physics’, I want this book to describe the wonderful and weird world of physics. And I would really like if you did the art work for my book. You have such amazing skills. You can touch people’s heart with you art and I hope I can do the same with my book.” Sander was excited, he loved the idea of a joint project with his mum. It was also an opportunity to have his art distributed around the world as the publisher had already planned for a quarter of a million copies in seven different languages to be produced.


	7. After the highs, come the lows…

**Wednesday September 30th, 2020**

07:12

“Good morning, mum” Robbe said while filling his bowl with breakfast cereals. “Good morning Robbe” Charlotte said. Robbe could see that his mum was reading the mail and she made a surprising expression as she was reading one letter. “What is it mum?” Robbe asked. How he would regret asking her that question… “It’s the water bill…” his mum spoke, “It’s more than twice what it was last year…”. “You know, Robbe, it’s sufficient to shower 10 to 15 minutes to clean oneself, there’s no point in spending an hour in the shower” his mum continued. Robbe started to blush. Was his mum suspected what he and Sander were doing in the shower? Robbe was a shy guy. He had learned to be comfortable to talk about sex with his guru, Milan and he even made the occasional sneaky remark to the broerrrs such as when he told Aaron during the lockdown that “there are ways, that’s all I am saying”. But talking about this with his mum was still way out of his comfort zone. “Well…” Robbe tried to explain, “When Sander is here he has to shower too”. “Can’t you shower together, that saves water, they warn in the news that water levels are extremely low due to the recent dry periods and that we should all conserve water” his mum stated. Now the suggestion that he should shower together with Sander, which they always already did, made Robbe blush even more. This conversation was quickly growing too uncomfortable for Robbe so he thought of an excuse to end it. “Fock, I had agreed to meet Yasmina before classes start to discuss a task for biology. Sorry mum, I am already late. See you this evening.” Robbe said while leaving. 

16:03

School had just ended for today and as usual Robbe would immediately check his phone to see if he had received any messages from Sander. Nothing from Sander but he had received one message that made his heart stop for a moment. 

Isabelle: [Hi Robbe, could you stop by after school. Sander is down, he needs you]

Robbe immediately hurried out, ignoring the calls of the broerrrs. Robbe had noticed the previous days that Sander had been a bit hyper and he knew that that inevitably meant that the pendulum was going to hit the opposite direction sooner or later… He had seen Sander paint non-stop for hours as if he was possessed… However, it were periods like these when he created his best work… Sander had also been even more sexually active than usual, the last few days, often asking Robbe to go for a second time immediately after finishing round one. While it was exhausting for Robbe to keep up with Sander, their sex during these periods was even more breath-taking than usual, as if that was even possible… Sander would explore every square centimetre of Robbe’s body and make Robbe feel things that he didn’t even think were possible. It was perfect but also sad as he knew what was going to come next… 

16:17

Robbe was exhausted as he arrived at Sander’s house. He had cycled as fast as he could. He walked into Sander’s bedroom and saw the boy laying in bed. He hadn’t left bed all day long his mother had told Robbe. She had stayed home and worked from home. The benefit of being a theoretical physicist, one can do that job from any location. Robbe immediately took off his jacket and shoes and got in bed with Sander, wrapping his arm around Sander and holding him tight. They were spooning, Sander was the little spoon and Robbe held him tight. Experience had learned Robbe that this was the best approach when Sander felt down. Not saying anything but just letting him feel safe and loved. After a while, the presence of Robbe would have calmed Sander down sufficiently so that they could talk about what was on his mind. However, Sander didn’t speak. After a few minutes, the storm in his mind had clamed down enough and exhaustion had replaced it. He fell asleep in Robbe’s arms. 

Robbe decided that he couldn’t leave Sander alone for the night. He knew that his mom did not want him to stay over during school days but this was an emergency so he took his phone and messaged his mother. 

Robbe: [Sunder is having an episode. Can I please stay over at his place this night? He needs me.]

Mum: [Sure, take good care of him]

Robbe: [Thank you, I will]

21:54

Sander finally woke up. Robbe hadn’t slept a moment, he had simply staying in bed holding his boyfriend in his arms for the last five an a half hours… Not leaving Sander’s side for even one minute. “Hey, how are you?” Robbe asked when he saw Sander open his eyes. “Marie was right, I am toxic, you deserve someone better” he said. It broke Robbe’s heart, he had taken Sander to his dad and Marie and while it seemed that Sander wasn’t affected at the time by her nastiness he might have just internalized it… “Noooo” Robbe said, “You’re the most amazing guy in the world. I love you”. 

Sander feels everything very intensely and that can be both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because the love he feels for Robbe is off the scale but it is also a curse because when the clouds appear in his head he really feels horrible. Yesterday evening, the demons had come back in his head. He started to think about Marie, about how he has hurt Robbe before,… His brain kept telling him that he didn’t deserve happiness, that sooner or later he was going to hurt Robbe again who was going to hate him for it. He desperately tried to think off all the good stuff with Robbe, the unconditional love they shared, the feeling of their skin and lips touching,… But his mind didn’t allow him to access those memories… He had fought the demons with every ounce of energy until he was completely drained and had collapsed. He lost the battle once more… He screamed in agony as his brain played out dark scenarios. Him all alone in all universes… Lost… 

Then earlier today his angel had returned and started to exorcise the demons from his head. Currently his head was still a battle ground between his angel and his demons. He felt exhausted, despite just having woken up minutes ago he again felt unable to keep his eyes open. Not much later Sander had fallen asleep again. Robbe kept spooning him and soon he had fallen asleep too. 

**Thursday October 1st, 2020**

07:27

Robbe woke up from the sound of his alarm. He could sleep out because school was not starting until 9am this morning. Robbe turned to Sander and gave him a kiss on the cheek before he got out of bed. “You’re leaving me?” Sander asked. “Never!” Robbe replied, “I have school”. “Will you come back?” Sander asked. “Always” Robbe said. Robbe got back in bed and gave Sander another kiss. I am going to shower he said, I’ll be back. As Robbe went to shower he couldn’t help but to think back about last December when he had had a similar conversation with Sander. He actually, started to wonder if Sander had actually teased him with his questions… If he had already recovered enough from his depressive episode to start his typical jokes again… Robbe wasn’t sure…

08:11

“Roomservice” Robbe said as he walked back into Sander’s bedroom carrying a breakfast tray. Every bit helps to cheer Sander up during his dark days so Robbe had decided to make Sander’s most favourite breakfast… croques. He noticed a small smile on Sander’s face confirming his earlier suspicion that Sander is on the upward curve again. He sat down on the bed and handed Sander a cup with black coffee. Sander wouldn’t do anything in the morning before he got his black coffee. He especially liked Columbian coffee which tends to be milder and sweeter than Arabica. After sipping his coffee, Sander said “Thank you baby” to Robbe before starting to eat his croque. Robbe kissed Sander goodbye promising to return immediately after school. 

08:24

Robbe hated it but he had no choice. He had to leave Sander and go to school. As Robbe left for school he knew that he should ask someone te care for Sander while he was away, like Milan had done last year. Milan was too busy with a college project right now so there was only one person he could think of, Sven. Sven had always been a good listener who knew what to say when people told him about their problems, insecurities, and fears. 

Robbe: [Sander has an episode, do you have time to spend the day with him today?]

Sven: [Don’t worry, I’ll care for him]

Robbe: [Thank you! He’s at his parents. Let me send you the address…] 

16:41

Robbe arrived back at Sander’s. Sven let him in and immediately left saying he didn’t want to be the ‘third person’. Robbe went to Sander’s bedroom and saw his sketchbook on his desk with new drawings inside. That Sander had done some art was inevitably a sign that he was coming out of his depression. Sander was sitting on the bed watching a funny Youtube movie on his computer. Sven had apparently again done his magic… “Mijn kunstenaar (my artist)” Robbe said to greet his boyfriend. A smile appeared on Sander’s face. Robbe walked towards Sander stopping when his face was just centimetres away from his boyfriend’s. He took a moment to look Sander in the eyes… those beautiful emerald eyes. Every time he looked into Sander’s eyes he fell completely in love again. Robbe wrapped his arms around his boy and Sander reciprocated the gesture. Holding each other firm, their noses toughed as the two boys gave each other an Eskimo kiss before their lips met. Robbe tasted Sander’s sweet and soft lips. It send a shiver down his spine. The things this boy did to him… The kiss became more intense, tongs started to touch and circle each other… Suddenly, Sander slipped his hands underneath Robbe’s t-shirt. Robbe broke this kiss and asked “What are you doing?”. “I need you” Sander said. This made Robbe very happy, Sander was clearly out of his depression. “Your mum” Robbe asked worryingly. The idea that she might walk in to check how Sander was doing while they had their intimate moment scared Robbe beyond words. “Don’t worry, she won’t be home until this evening. Sven promised her that he would stay here until either you or she got home so my mum knows I am safe”. “But for good measure…” Sander said while walking to the door and locking it. He returned to Robbe and started to take Robbe’s hoodie off. He clearly couldn’t wait to have Robbe’s naked body on his own so he removed Robbe’s t-shirt simultaneously with the hoodie. Next, Robbe similarly removed Sander’s t-shirt while Sander was already unbuckling Robbe’s pants. Moments later the two boys were naked in bed, Sander on top of Robbe, kissing passionately. Sander’s warm hands were gliding all over Robbe’s body making the younger one moan. Sander broke their kiss and went down to give hickeys on Robbe’s neck. It drove the younger boy crazy. Suddenly Robbe flipped Sander over and now on top he went down and started to suck Sander’s left nipple. Robbe could hear Sander’s heart beating, quite fast at the moment as he was all excited. He loosened his grip on Sander’s nipple and inhaled deeply, smelling Sander’s enchanting perfume a mixture of woody, citrusy, and floral notes. Before he moved further down and started to kiss Sander’s belly, followed by his hips and thighs. Sander was moaning in pleasure… Every touch of Robbe felt like a surge of electricity going through his body. Robbe, came back up and started to kiss Sander desperately on the mouth. Their hands found each other and interlaced while they kept kissing. “I love you” Robbe whispered while their lips were still touching. “I love you too” Sander replied. Waves of ecstasy travelled through the bodies of the two boys from their toes to the tops of their heads. Every square centimetre of their bodies was tingling with pleasure. It completely consumed them… Robbe could never get enough of Sander, he always wanted more… more… The moaning grew more intense. “Fuck, I want you so badly” Sander said. “Take me” Robbe begged. Sander complied without hesitation… “Feels so good… Sander… Sander…” Robbe whined non-stop… He had lost the ability for form coherent sentences at this point. Robbe grabbed the bedsheets in his fists… 

17:52

Wow, that was Chernobyl… Correction, that was a supernova… Robbe thought. He was laying exhausted and sweaty next to Sander who felt similar. “Time for a shower” Robbe said and he grasped Sander’s hand and pulled him out of bed. The two boys went into the walk in shower and Robbe opened the tap. “Fock!” Sander yelled as the cold water hit his naked body. “Sorry” Robbe said while giggling and he quickly adjusted the water temperature. Soon nice warm water started to rain down over the boys who had started to kiss again. Robbe took the shampoo and started to massage Sander’s scalp. Feeling Sander’s hair in his fingers was heaven. Oh god, did he love that bleached hair... After washing his hair, Robbe took care of Sander’s body. Next, it was time for Sander to repay Robbe by washing his body. Sander took the shower gel and started to apply it to Robbe’s body with his soft hands, taking care to make sure each part was properly washed… Robbe giggled as Sander was touching sensitive parts… It felt so good, he felt so safe and loved. Robbe wished they could stay in the shower forever… 

18:33

After the shower and getting dried, the two boys returned to Sander’s bed and laid down watching and holding each other in their arms. “Thank you angel” Sander suddenly said to Robbe, “You’ve once more saved me.” “Sander, you’ve been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I will always be there for you” Robbe assured him followed by a kiss. Suddenly, the boys heard a knock on their door. “Sander, you’re there” his mum said. “Yes, mum. I am with Robbe” Sander replied. “Ok, I have ordered some dinner. It should arrive in like half an hour.” His mum said. “OK, we’ll come” Sander said.


	8. When the cat's away, the mice will play…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny teaser: drama will come soon in a chapter called: "The worst day in Robbe’s life" 
> 
> I am not a professional historian so I apologize if any historical inaccuracies might be present. 
> 
> Credit to "We Are The Future" by TotallyTinkerbell for coming up with Jonathan as the boyfriend of Milan.

**Saturday October 3rd, 2020**

08:30

Sander woke up all excited for the day to come. Robbe had slept at home last night to please his mum as he had stayed over with Sander last Wednesday. But this morning Robbe would return and stay until Monday morning. He had several surprises planned to thank his angel for saving him once more this week. He felt that he could never repay the immense debt he owned Robbe. This boy had given him life… 

09:04

“Good morning mum” Sander said with a big smile on his face. She knew that her son was smiling because Robbe was coming over. She felt an incredible gratitude to the younger boy for the effect he had on her son. “Good morning sweetheart” she said, “I have a congress today in Ghent and as it will get late I’ve decided to stay there in a hotel. So, you and Robbe have the home to yourself… But, I will be back tomorrow morning to make croques for everyone. Dad will get home tomorrow morning too.” she said. “Fantastic mum” Sander said with his mouth full. He couldn’t eat his breakfast fast enough as Robbe could arrive any moment… As if by cosmic predestination as soon as he thought about Robbe arriving the doorbell rang. Sander jumped up to open the door and saw his koala boy standing there. The two boys immediately jumped into each other’s arms and exchanged ‘I love you’s’ and kisses. The two boys felt that they were not two separate individuals but one person who inhabited two bodies. Whenever they were alone they felt that a piece of themselves was missing, the other half… Like two sides of one coin… A Yin and Yang… They belonged together always and everywhere, in this and all other universes. A cosmic force had bounded them together. 

12:12

The two boys arrived at the castle of Gaasbeek. Sander knew that Robbe liked castles and he had actually once in a conversation dropped to Sander that he would like to visit that castle once… Sander always paid close attention when Robbe was talking about what he liked and didn’t like. He would remember what smells, colours, food, sports, movies, music, etc… that Robbe liked so he could make sure that he always had the best surprises for his boyfriend. But actually, Robbe didn’t care… He hated cucumber but he would gladly eat a whole cucumber if Sander fed it to him. Everything Sander toughed turned into gold in Robbe’s mind. But how extra lucky he was that Sander was so attentive to Robbe’s opinions… 

When Robbe turned seven his parents had given him an educational book about knights and castles as a birthday gift. Robbe instantaneously fell in love with the subject. He was fascinated about how people lived in times past and how reality sometimes differs from current popular beliefs. For example, many people believe that inside walls of stone castles used to be bare stone while in reality they were typically plastered and painted. He loved to find out how daily life was like. What rituals, believes and habits that people used to have. How houses were lit (typically rushlights instead of candles), how wood ash was used as soap, how Philippe, Duke of Orléans was an open homosexual in the 17th century, how the poor had healthier diets than the wealthy, how barbers used to do surgeries,… it was all so fascinating. 

“Sander…” Robbe said in disbelief when they arrived at the castle. He grabbed his boyfriend and kissed him passionately. “Thank you” he said. Sander was smiling as he noticed how happy his boy was. The two boys walked through the monumental gate house, underneath the bas-relief depicting the lion of Brabant leading to the inner court. The current look of the castle is the result of an elegant fusion between an outside façade that has retained its medieval look with an inside façade that looks more like the streets of Bruges. At the bottom of the castle one can still see the original 13-15th century stone work while the upper part is mainly the result of a massive 19th century rebuilding in red bricks. On the outside façade, the typical medieval characteristics of a castle such as the arrowslits and battlements were incorporated in the 19th century walls to increase the authenticity. Robbe looked around with his mouth wide open as he marvelled at the playful facades that graced the inner court side of the castle. Suddenly, Robbe was taken out of his trance by Sander shouting “Allee, poseer”. A moment later Sander took a snap of his cute boyfriend in front of the backside of the gate house. 

17:33

The two boys were sitting on the bus to Brussel, from there they will take the train to Antwerp. Sander was listening to some music using Robbe’s Bluetooth headset while Robbe was checking his social media. Suddenly, Robbe smiled and hit Sander’s arm to draw his attention. “What is it?” Sander asked. Robbe showed him the profile update from Milan’s Instagram. It was a picture of him and Jonathan together with the text “Love is love”. “You remember, we met them at Jana’s party last month?” Robbe said to a confused Sander. “Ah yes, now I remember” Sander replied. “So, apparently it was not another hook up from Milan. Apparently he really has found love now” Robbe said with a smile. He was so happy for Milan, Milan deserved happiness. He immediately liked the picture and Sander did the same. 

19:29

The two boys arrived back at Sander’s place. Something was off as Robbe could see light burning inside and nobody should be home. For a moment he thought that burglars must be inside… But Sander seemed unconcerned as he walked to the front door and opened it. Robbe could hear romantic music coming from the home as he walked in. He noticed red rose flower petals scattered over the steps of the stairs. Suddenly, Sander, who was standing behind him, grasped him by the shoulders and turned Robbe ninety degrees to his right, towards the entrance of the dining room while whispering in his ear “that’s for later…”. Before the two boys could enter the dining room, the door opened and Sven, several of Sander’s friends from the academy, and a famous top chef walked out of the living room. They said ‘Good evening’ to the boys and walked out. 

Once in the dining room Robbe was overwhelmed… The table was set for two. A big vase with beautiful red roses and tiny white _Gypsophila elegans_ flowers and an antique silver candelabrum carrying six red taper candles decorated the graceful table. More red candles were standing on cabinets across the dining room. Their warm light illuminated the room as Sander dimmed the electrical lights to make it more cosier. 

“Messieur” Sander said while he took the chair from under the table an gestured Robbe to sit on it before shifting it back under the table. Robbe noticed the little card that was put on top of his plate. It said:

“I, I will be king  
And you, you will be king  
…  
'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact  
Yes, we're lovers, and that is that”

Robbe immediately recognized the slightly modified lyrics of ‘Heroes’ from David Bowie and remembered that these were the lyrics that sander used on Instagram when he announced their relationship to the world with that funny picture of them together with Sander sticking out his tongue. “Sander…” Robbe said with his mouth open from astonishment. “I really appreciate the effort you do for me. I really do… But all I want is simply to be with you and hold you… You don’t have to always do so much effort for me.” Robbe said. “Nothing is too much for you.” Sander replied. 

Sander left and returned with an ice bucket containing a bottle of champagne. He filled two glasses and handed one to Robbe. “To our eternal love” Sander said as he clinked his glass with Robbe’s. “To our eternal love” Robbe repeated. Robbe got up and walked over to Sander to kiss him. “Ooooo, wait…” Sander said, “If we go there the food will be cold and that would be a shame given that a three star chef made it…”. Robbe complied and went back to his seat while Sander got the amuse-gueules from the kitchen. He placed a little plate containing gratinated coquilles de saint Jacques in front of Robbe and himself. “Bon appétit (enjoy your meal)” Sander said. “Merci” Robbe replied. The smell made Robbe salivate instantly, “hmmmmm” he said in a low voice as he inhaled the delicious smell. 

21:21

After finishing their delightful meal, Sander quickly extinguished all the candles and grasped Robbe’s hand and pulled him from his chair. “Come” he said, while grabbing the half empty bottle of champagne from the ice bucket. He took his boyfriend upstairs. They walked over the rose petals littered stairs towards the bathroom. To Robbe’s surprise Sander went to the hot tub instead of the shower. He opened the tab, checked the temperature, and poured some floral fragrance in the tub before returning to Robbe. The two boys started kissing and Robbe pulled Sander’s t-shirt off followed moments later by Sander pulling of Robbe’s t-shirt. Next pants, underwear and socks got removed in rapid succession. Sander took Robbe’s hand and guided him to the hot tub. The two boys got in and Robbe sat down on Sander’s lap. “Ooooowww…” Sander said as he felt Robbe’s body move on top of him. Sander was on fire. The hot water and then Robbe naked on top of him made him boil on the inside. But he loved it. Drops of sweat started to form on his forehead. He wrapped his arms around the younger boy and gave a kiss on his forehead. “I love you” Sander said. “Love you too” Robbe replied. Robbe took the bottle of champagne and filled two glasses. The cold drink felt wonderful as it cooled down their overheated bodies. But Sander didn’t get much relief as Robbe decided to make his boyfriend sweat even more by rubbing his body against Sander’s. Robbe’s teasing didn’t miss its effect and Sander was getting completely excited. Feeling Robbe’s body on him drove him crazy. Suddenly Robbe got up. “What are you doing?” Sander asked but as soon as he had finished his sentence he felt Robbe going down on him and all he could do is moan in bliss. 

23:03

Exhausted but in paradise the two boys found themselves in bed laying on their backs. The things Robbe did to him… Sander turned on his side and put his hand on Robbe’s chest while kissing his on his cheek. “Thank you” Sander said. “What for?” Robbe asked surprised. “For always being there for me. Like earlier this week…” Sander explained. “You would do the same for me” the younger boy said. “I indeed would, my prince” Sander said with a smile and he gave Robbe a French kiss. Robbe turned on his side and Sander spooned him and the two boys fell asleep in each other’s arms.


	9. Karolinska on the line…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter in the POV of Sander’s mum. 
> 
> I am not a physicist so I apologize ahead of time for any scientific errors contained in this chapter. The scientists in this chapter are all fictional. Don’t write on your homework that Nick Alberts developed M theory 😉

**Tuesday October 6th, 2020**

11:13

Sander’s mum is sitting in her office, piles of scientific papers surround her, the blackboard on the wall is full with equations and she sits sunken deep in her thoughts about a physics problem when she gets violently interrupted by a phone call. She picked up the phone and a voice on the other side asked “Do I speak with professor Driesen?”. “Yes” Isabelle answered. “My name is Karl Johansson, the secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. I have the distinct pleasure to inform you that the Nobel committee has just decided that you will share this year’s prize with professor Nick Alberts from Columbia University…”. Isabelle felt dizzy. This had to be a dream… Did she just win the most prestigious scientific award in the world??? “Thank you so much…” she finally managed to say in a soft voice. “Would you be willing to answer some questions from the journalists during the prize announcement?” Mr. Johansson asked. “Sure, I would be delighted to” Isabelle replied. “Fantastic, then I’ll call you back in just under an hour. And again, my sincere congratulations with your Nobel” Mr. Johansson said before hanging up the phone. 

11:45

Isabelle still couldn’t believe what had just happened. She had to watch the Nobel announcement live on their website to believe that the phone call had really happened and was not some kind of trick of her imagination. At exactly 11:45 the secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the chairman of the physics committee, and a member of the physics committee specialized in the topic of this year’s award walked into the press conference room. Mr. Johansson took the word first: “Good morning everyone and welcome to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and this press conference. The academy met in session this morning to award this year’s Nobel prize in physics and we are now ready to announce it. My name is Karl Johansson and I am the secretary general of the academy and with me on the podium today are two members of the Nobel committee for physics, on my right professor Victor Nilsson, who is the chairman of the physics committee, and on my left professor Ulf Andersson. And as usual, I will read the announcement, first in Swedish and then in English. I will also read the citation in German, French, and Russian. Victor will make some remarks about the Nobel prize and Ulf will introduce the science behind the prize. After that, if everything goes fine, we should have one of our new Nobel laureates on the phone and there will be the opportunity for questions. This year’s prize goes for contributions to the unification of the fundamental forces in physics. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has today decided to award the 2020 Nobel prize in physics with one half to Isabelle Driesen for her contribution to the understanding of the dynamics of p-branes in string theories and the other half to Nick Alberts for his contributions to the development of M theory.”

While Mr. Johansson was still talking, the phone in her office started to ring and emails started to pour in… Isabelle was shocked that within minutes over 200 emails had poured into her inbox. Both of the main TV channels had invited her to appear on the 7 o’clock news. The email from VTM news drew her attention as the sender was an old student of hers. And the VTM news studio is located conveniently in Antwerp so she decided that VTM news would get her positive reply. 

12:18

Isabelle had just finished her phone interview with the journalists in Stockholm when a ping on her phone drew her attention. It was a message from Robbe. It was lunch break at school now and so the boy must have been able to check his phone. He must have been surprised to see the news that the mother of his boyfriend had just received the Nobel prize. The message simply said “Congratulations!” followed by a bunch of smiling and party emoticons. Just moments later she received another message. This time from her son: “Congratulations mom! So proud of you!”. 

19:00

The TV news started. The news reader started by introducing the main topics. “Good evening! Welcome! Today the Nobel committee announced that this year’s Nobel prize in physics will be awarded for the contribution to the ‘unification of the fundamental forces in physics’ to professor Nick Alberts from Columbia University and to professor Isabelle Driesen from the Antwerp University.” the news reader said. After a short fragment from this morning’s announcement the news reader announced “So far only 11 Belgians have won a Nobel prize, the last one in 2013 also happened to be in physics. And we are lucky to have this year’s winner, professor Driesen, with us here in the studio. Welcome professor and congratulations with this, may I say, exceptional honour.” “Thank you”, Isabelle replied. “So, if I understood it correctly, one key problem in physics had always been that no single theory could explain both gravity and electromagnetism. And that the work you did contributed to bridging this gap?” the newsreader asked. “Yes, that basically is the essence of it. There are four fundamental forces in physics: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong, and the weak nuclear force. The last three forces were already unified in one theory by the ‘70s but gravity never really fit in. However, in the same decade string theory was beginning to be developed as a theory that could eventually explain all four forces. The development was slow though and well 50 years later we’re still haven’t completely worked out the string theories“. “Theories?” the news reader interrupted. “Yes, five string theories were developed and each theory individually could explain some facts about our universe but failed in explaining others. But in 1995, Nick Alberts who won the Nobel prize with me, and others started the development of a new theory called M theory. In M theory the universe is seen as 11 dimensional and under these conditions it becomes clear that the five distinct string theories are just classical limits of M theory.” “And is it true that you work proves the existence of parallel universes?” the newsreader asked. “Not really, my work does not prove their existence but string theories allows for their existence. That’s two very radically different things. I personally believe that it’s likely that parallel universes exist but not everyone does. For example, my own son has been a long time sceptic… Though, recently he seems to have changed his opinion. Not sure if that’s because of me or because of his boyfriend…” Isabelle said while laughing at her last few sentences. “Ok, thank you so much for being here with us and explaining your work. Today there were again protests in multiple cities against the French government. Protestors demand the resignation of the whole cabinet for their failure to deal with the economic crisis caused by the COVID pandemic…“ the news reader continued. 

23:53

Isabelle finally got home after a day that felt like the most exhausting marathon she had ever run. She had given interviews to dozens of journalists from around the world. Thousands of congratulatory emails had poured into her mailbox. Luckily some of her PhD students had offered their help to send a personalized thank you message back to everyone who had offered their congratulations. Being a Nobel laureate was going to change her work life. She now would be forced to hire a secretary to help deal with the endless string of invitations to give talks at scientific conferences, invitations to join the editorial boards of journals, the never ending stream of requests from journals to submit articles, journalists wanting her opinion on various science news stories, and finally the crazy people who believe that they have disproven all of physics and want to run their alternative theories past a real scientist… Just separating the mails from real scientific journals from those of fake and predatory ones would be a near full time job… 

Sander had apparently already left to bed before his mother got home. Of course, he had classes in the morning. Though, so did Isabelle, at 09:30 tomorrow she would teach her course on quantum electrodynamics. Winning a Nobel prize the day before was, in her book, no valid excuse to cancel a class. Isabelle noticed a drawing laying on the dining table. It was a portrait of her in her professorial toga with written next to it “Congratulations, you deserve it! Love Sander. BTW, it was Robbe 😉”. Isabelle let a tear run down her cheek. She realized that she had always been a workaholic who never gave Sander the attention that he deserved and yet her son still loved her. She decided that the least she could do was to put her alarm half an hour earlier, accept the loss of sleep in an already short night, and take the time to make croques for Sander in the morning. 

First there was the corona crisis that disrupted their lives, then Isabelle became a viscountess and now there’s the Nobel prize… The Driesen household thought that the rest of the year would be rather uneventful… Nobody could, in their wildest dreams, have expected the bombshell that Robbe was going to detonate… But we’re running ahead of ourselves… There are a few more chapters to go before all hell breaks loose…


	10. A crisis is looming…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder about how last chapter ended: “Nobody could, in their wildest dreams, have expected the bombshell that Robbe was going to detonate… But we’re running ahead of ourselves… There are a few more chapters to go before all hell breaks loose…”
> 
> Today (29/05) marks the 6 month anniversary of Friday 21:21 :)

**Thursday October 22nd, 2020**

06:30

The ringing of his alarm brought Robbe out of his blissful dream. Shit, the young boy thought, it was so nice to dream about what had happened the previous weekend… Sven had given Robbe and Sander a gift voucher for a romantic weekend together in a castle in the countryside on the border with the Netherlands. In addition to relaxing in the bubble bath in their room and enjoying the gastronomical food in the castle, Robbe and Sander had also gone out to explore the surroundings. Among the farms and the green landscape a strange medieval looking tower had drawn Sander’s attention. It was made of red bricks and lots of above ground electricity wires were connected to both sides of the tower. After a quick Google search it was revealed that these were old electricity towers in which giant transformers once stood. Sander liked them artistically and instructed Robbe to pose in front of them so he could take some snaps. Later he would made a sketch of Robbe in front of the tower… 

Robbe had had the feeling that Sven was trying to strengthen his relationship with Sander. As if they needed that, he thought. Robbe and Sander’s relationship was so strong that no force in the universe could ever tear them apart. 

06:50

After a quick shower Robbe made his way downstairs to the kitchen to have breakfast. “Good morning my son” Charlotte said. “Hi mum” Robbe replied. “Will Sander say over this weekend? Or will you stay over at his place?” his mum questioned. “If it’s fine, Sander could stay over here this weekend” Robbe asked his mum. “That would be wonderful she said. You know I like Sander a lot, don’t you? Every mum would love a boy who makes her son so happy as Sander does to you.” she said with a smile on her face. Robbe’s mum had welcomed Sander from the beginning, after she had gotten back home from the clinic last Christmas. She was surprised when she got that message from her son saying that he had a boyfriend but she was never narrowminded. She was more surprised by the fact that Robbe had apparently never dared to speak with her about his feelings. It pained her. But she also knew that she had had her own problems and that maybe it wasn’t for the fear of judgement that he had not come out to her but just because he didn’t want to burden her with his own problems. Her son was such an angel, he was always there for her and did everything to help and protect her during her difficult times. And now she could see how he was similarly caring for Sander. And Sander repaid the emotional support he got from Robbe by offering Robbe emotional support. Since Robbe had been together with Sander he had become less shy. He had started to open up about his own feelings. For the first time in years he had someone with who he could share some things that he had never been able to share with anyone else... 

09:06

Robbe had currently history class. His teacher Mr. Van Hof was a man who was extremely passionate about history. During school vacations he would travel around the world to visit sites of great historical importance. He would bring back stories and photographs from his many excursions to supplement his classes. But today instead of discussing history, he was talking about the present, or in his words ‘history under development’. More specifically the situation in France. After a second wave of corona, the French government had taken extremely strict quarantine measures during the summer. The economic impact was gargantuan. Thousands of companies had gone bankrupt in the last months and more than 3 million people had lost their jobs. Everything was made worse by a dry summer that caused big losses of crops, greatly hurting the agricultural sector leading to even more bankruptcies… The lack of tourists from other countries had greatly hurt the touristic sectors leading to massive bankruptcies in this sector as well. Protests had erupted and those had only contributed to the spread of the virus… The costs of unemployment benefits, support to companies struggling to keep afloat, and the loss of tax income had caused the state’s finances to spiral out of control. Seeing no other way out, the French state had to ask the International Monetary Fund for an emergency loan, a so called Extended Fund Facility, for countries with massive and long-term financial problems that require structural changes to the state to recover. Also the European Union had provided a €15 billion support package to France but this barely scratched the surface of the financial problems the state was in… All this had forced the French state into making some very unpopular decisions such as reducing the unemployment benefits and increasing the age of retirement. The situation was dire… 

Robbe really didn’t want to listen to this. But what could he do? It’s not like a high school student could just walk out of a class. He was forced to keep listening with great annoyance to the explanations of his teacher. 

09:50

Finally, history class was over. Next class would be much more enjoyable, biology. Robbe walked in and sat down next to Yasmina. “Hi Yasmina” Robbe said. Yasmina greeted him back before asking Robbe about what she had heard: “You’ve been on a romantic weekend to a castle with Sander?”. “Yes, it was so perfect” Robbe replied. “But how are things with you and your mystery boyfriend?” Robbe asked. “He’s not my…” Yasmina started to say with blushing cheeks. “You know, he’s good looking, sweet and everything… But things are a bit complicated” Yasmina explained. “Believe me, I know everything about that” Robbe said with a smile. “If you want to talk about it we can meet during lunch?” Robbe suggested. Yasmina nodded “That would be nice”. 

The teacher, Ms. Lambrechts walked in, ending the conversation between Robbe and Yasmina. “Today we are going to talk about transgenesis” she announced. 

10:53

As Robbe walked from the biology classroom to his next classroom he saw Britt. Seeing her still made him feel uneasy, slightly upset. He had still not forgiven her for what happened later on that fateful day when Sander had checked himself out of the hospital. Britt had gone through Antwerp looking for him… Finally, around 9 o’clock in the evening she had ended up at the flat share where Robbe was living. Upon hearing the bell Robbe had run to the door hoping that it might have been Sander but he was greatly disappointed when seeing a panicking Britt in front of him. She immediately yelled “Sander!” multiple times and before Robbe could say anything she had pushed her way in and started to check all the rooms looking for Sander. “He isn’t here” Robbe told her “I have no idea where he is”. “Of course you don’t know where he is. You’re just his fuckboy, his toy that he uses, he doesn’t love you. Things recently between me and him had not been going so well and well boys have their needs, I guess… And you prostituted yourself to him. You prostituted yourself to MY boyfriend! How did he pay you? With his worthless art?” Britt was fulminating to Robbe. “You stay away from MY boyfriend and find another victim to abuse. I am going to make sure you never see him again! He’s mine and mine alone. So go and prostitute yourself to some other boys!” she shouted. This all was interrupted when Zoë had walked in. Because Britt had been yelling so loudly Zoë had heard the last part of the conversation as she walked towards the entrance door of the shared flat. The horrible words had been like acid to Zoë’s soul and she could not even imagine what Robbe must be feeling right now. Britt’s words caused a flashback in Zoë’s mind to when she first met Jana after Britt had called Jana a whore. As she walked in and saw Britt standing there she couldn’t control herself. In a very atypical Zoë fashion she lost control and yelled at Britt to get out at once! Robbe had never told this to Sander and he had Zoë swear that she would never tell anyone else either. How could he ever get Britt’s awful words over his lips, to explain to Sander what had happened that evening? He couldn’t hurt Sander like that. He knew that Sander wouldn’t care in the slightest about what Britt thought about him but knowing how much she had hurt his little angel with her words would have driven Sander into an insane rage. He couldn’t do that to Sander. So Robbe just kept that horrible story to himself. The only reason that he had decided, the next day, to inform Britt that he had found Sander and was staying over at his place was because he didn’t know how to reach Sander’s parents. They had to be informed that their son was safe! But Robbe couldn’t get Sander to give him his parents contact information. He just wanted to hold on to Robbe and not talk about anything else, including his parents. He was still strapped in his depressive episode. It wouldn’t be until the next day, after some very welcome sleep, that he would finally feel able to function again. While Milan was caring for him Sander had called his mum to assure her that everything was OK with him and that Robbe was caring for him. After Robbe anxiously send that message to Britt he had informed Zoë that if the doorbell would ring that she had to open. He would stay in his room with Sander. Zoë would then have to tell Britt to leave them alone. But luckily this hadn’t been necessary, Britt had never shown up. Maybe she felt some regrets for the stuff she had told Robbe? Or maybe she just knew that the cause was lost and that Sander would never return to her? 

12:12

Robbe walked into the school’s cafeteria and saw Yasmina sitting in the corner. He walked over and sat down next to her. Robbe had gone to the sandwich shop across from the school and bought a ‘martino’. “So”, he said, “you wanted to talk about your… how should I call him?”. Yasmina sighed, “Let’s just use him name, Yousef”. “He went to the same school as my brother, that’s how I’ve been introduced to him. But last year he and his parents moved to Paris because his father got a management position there in a major bank. My parents are more traditional while Yousef’s parents are more progressive. For example, mine believe that charging interest on loans is haram, while his father basically runs a Western bank. Similarly, his parents don’t like our relationship. They want him to find a girlfriend from ‘their circles’. My father is just a shopkeeper and my mum is a stay at home mum. We’re not part of the elite with which Yousef’s parents hang out.” “And what do you want? Do you love him?” Robbe asked. “I don’t know… to be honest. How does one know that one is in love? I’ve never been in love before. How did you know about Sander?” Yasmina said. “Well, from the moment I saw him in the chalet I knew… It’s hard to explain in words what I felt. It was just like a piece of me that was missing and that I finally found back...” Robbe explained. “Hmmm, that’s pretty intense…” Yasmina said, “I wouldn’t word my own feelings like that.” “But I feel happy around Yousef and he makes me feel special…” Yasmina said. “What I and Sander had was love on first sight. But I believe that equally strong love can come in a more gradual fashion. Like Zoë didn’t instantly fall for Senne, it gradually grew and I would say that they have a very strong relationship given that they are still together despite everything that happened… So, maybe you need to give yourself and Yousef some time… and see if the love develops?” Robbe suggested. “I suppose so… Thank you for your advice” Yasmina said with a smile. “You’re welcome” Robbe replied. 

16:03

School was finally over. Robbe checked his phone while walking out to discover a message from Sander send a few minutes ago: “Sorry baby, I have an assignment for school to complete by tomorrow so I can’t hang out with you this evening. I miss you!”. Robbe felt a dark shadow falling over him but he also would never expect Sander to neglect his studies for him. Robbe wanted only the best for Sander. Jens saw Robbe and asked “You want to go skate?”. “Sure” Robbe replied and the two boys left school for the skate park. Jens had noticed that Robbe had recently started to be a bit… well “shitty”. “How are you doing?” Jens asked Robbe with a concerned look. “Fine” robbe replied dryly. “I’ve known you longer than anyone else, except your parents” Jens noticed. “Is there something wrong with you and Sander?” he carefully asked. The question shocked Robbe. How could Jens think that? His relationship with Sander was the epitome of perfection. “No, with me and Sander everything is perfect. It’s just some other personal stuff I have going on… But I rather don’t talk about it.” While Jens his curiosity has prickled by that last statement, he never pushed Robbe to talk with him about things he was not yet ready to talk about. When the time came, and he felt comfortable, Jens would offer a listening and understanding ear. Like he did almost a year ago when Robbe came out to him... 

21:36

Robbe was sitting in his bedroom working on an assignment for his Dutch course. The teacher had asked to write a 2,500 word essay about an important day in his life. He didn’t have to think long, Saturday October 26th was going to be his subject. The day that he walked into the chalet and saw the mysterious platinum blonde boy looking in the kitchen cabinets. He immediately had a title: “The day the earth stood still…” because that day the earth literally stood still for him. But then he had to start writing… And suddenly it dawned on him, how could he every succeed at putting what he felt that day in words on a paper? Not even Shakespeare would succeed at that… After another two hours of staring at the empty paper, Robbe came to the conclusion that he would choose another subject...


	11. One happy family…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A snapshot of the future, the headline of the newspaper of January 19th, 2021 reads: “Sander: rebel or criminal?”

**Friday October 23rd, 2020**

17:18

Sander had waited for Robbe at his school and together they had come to Robbe’s house. “Hello mum” Robbe said. “Hello Charlotte” Sander said. “Oh, hello my boys” Robbe’s mum said. Yeah, Sander was already so much part of the family that Robbe’s mother referred to him as “my boy”. “I know that you boys love ‘fat Friday’s’ so would you be OK if I get food from the snack bar? Then we can watch a movie together while eating and we don’t have to take care cooking and doing the dishes…” Charlotte asked. “Fantastic mum!” Robbe said. While his mum left to get the food, Robbe turned on Netflix to start looking for a movie to watch. Robbe typed in “Leonardo Dicaprio” in the search bar, causing Sander to roll his eyes. “Not Titanic!” Sander said with a firm voice, “You’ve probably seen that one a thousand times…”. Robbe blushed, Sander was right, he had seen Titanic many times… A fact that he would never admit to anyone else, especially the broerrrs. They would forever tease him about that. Eventually the boys settled on watching ‘Moonlight’, a movie about a boy that is coming of age while struggling with his sexuality. Sander explained that the movie had earned an Oscar for Best Picture and that friends of him who study cinema at the art academy had told him how good the movie was from an artistic perspective. Neither of the boys had seen the movie yet so it was a good choice. 

17:53

Charlotte got back home with the food. “Have you boys found a movie to watch?” she asked. “Yes mum” Robbe said, “we’re ready when you are”. “Ok, I am coming, just getting some drinks” his mother explained. A few moments later Charlotte got to the sofa with the drinks and food: French fries, hamburgers, beef stew, mayonnaise, ketchup, cola, and beer. Robbe started the movie and they all started to eat. 

22:45

The two boys said goodnight to Charlotte and went upstairs. Once inside Robbe’s bedroom they started to kiss passionately. First on the mouth, then Robbe went down and kissed the side of Sander’s neck followed by removing Sander’s t-shirt and kissing his nipples. Suddenly, Sander asked: “Can I draw on you?” “What?” Robbe said surprised. He had not yet fully processed Sander’s question in his head. “Yes” Sander said, “I feel inspired by you, my muse, and I would like to use your naked body as my canvas”. Robbe giggled, Sander’s idea excited him too. He loved to indulge Sander in his art… “Let’s get started” Robbe said while stripping down. Sander watched his boyfriend strip and he got all warm… He grabbed his art supplies while Robbe quickly threw some towels over the bed before laying down. Suddenly, he felt the cold wet brush of Sander on his chest… It tickled as Sander was moving the brush over his skin. Robbe could not contain his giggling despite the uncomfortable thought in his mind that maybe his mum could hear them… But he loved it… About half an hour later Sander’s art work was ready. He had painted a koala on Robbe’s chest and belly… Robbe inspected it in his mirror and started to giggle… Koala had quickly become one of his pet neames… Sander quickly took a snap of his artwork before Robbe left to shower. 

After a quick shower to remove the paint, Robbe came back to bed where Sander was waiting for him. He dived in and started to kiss Sander. That night Robbe made Sander see all the stars… 

**Saturday October 24th, 2020**

09:00

The two boys made their way downstairs and Sander was immediately ecstatic about what he smelled. Robbe’s mum was making croques. Yep, since learning about the tradition of croques on Sundays at the Driesen household, Robbe’s mum had started to imitate it. She knew how much it would mean to Sander and her son. The three of them now formed one happy household of their own. The kitchen table was decorated with a blue vase containing ‘Yelloween’ lilies and yellow irises. A gift from her sister she explained. Sander looked in panic to his boyfriend thinking that they must have forgotten something. Was it her birthday today? Robbe noticed this and he knew exactly why Sander was panicking. “My mum’s sister likes to garden and she often comes by to give us some flowers from her garden” Robbe reassured his boyfriend. “In fact, it’s also her job… She works as a professor of botany at the University of Antwerp” Robbe stated. “Oh, that’s nice” Sander replied. 

10:22

After breakfast and some chit-chat about how their week had been, the two boys and Robbe’s mum left the house. Today they would go shopping together. Sander needed new Dr. Martens boots. He already knew that his boyfriend would make the joke “stomme schoenen” when he would be trying to take them off in the shop. Robbe also needed some new clothing and his mum was just doing some ‘fun shopping’. They first went to the shoe shop. That went quickly as Sander knew exactly what he wanted. Robbe obviously made the joke and they both laughed. His mum unaware of the true meaning of the joke… Next, they went to buy clothing for Robbe. They walked into a store that was known for its large collection of printed t-shirts. Robbe’s eye fell on a t-shirt with David Bowie’s face on it featuring the lightning bolt. “This one” Robbe said. “You’re buying clothing for yourself, not for Sander” his mum tried to remind him. “Well we generally anyway wear each other’s clothing, so that works out fine” Robbe said jokingly. But Robbe was right, they had increasingly started to wear each other’s t-shirts and hoodies. It made them feel together even when they were alone. However, Robbe stuck with his brown jacket and sneakers and Sander stuck with his leather jacket and Dr. Martens boots. Though, one time after having been teased by the broerrrs who had noticed that Robbe was wearing one of Sander’s t-shirts he had, as a statement, gone to school the next day wearing Sander’s leather jacket… Next, Robbe’s mum gestured the boys to go into the shop where Noor worked, although she was not aware of that history. “Hello Robbe” Noor said as she saw them walking in. “Oh, hello Noor” the boys said back. “You know each other?” Robbe’s mum said. “Yes, we’re friends” Robbe told her. “Let me know if I can help you with something?” Noor told them before continuing to fold up t-shirts. Robbe’s mum started to look around and suddenly her eyes were drawn to a beautiful pale green, ankle long dress. The top part was simply plain while from the waist down it consisted of a pleated translucent chiffon fabric that covered an underskirt made from a non-translucent fabric. This dress would look stunning on her, she knew that even before fitting it. Ten minutes later she walked out with the boys and her new dress. 

12:19

The little family went to a restaurant located in one of the side streets of the Meir (main shopping street in Antwerp) to have lunch. After placing their orders Charlotte asked Robbe: “So, in a few months high school will be finally over for you. Any plans already for what you want to do after?” “I want to go to University of Antwerp but I am still doubting between ‘biochemistry and biotechnology’ or ‘biomedical sciences’. If I choose biomedical sciences than during the master’s I will be able to choose ‘neurosciences’ as my specialization and therefore I edge towards biomedical sciences, at the moment…” Robbe explained. “That’s nice” his mum said, “You know I will support whatever choice you make”. “Thank you mum, you’re the best” Robbe said with a smile. “And you Sander, will you go for a master after finishing your bachelor?” she asked. “Well the master is just one extra year… So it almost seems silly not to do one…” Sander answered. “Oh, BTW, will you get physics from Sander’s mum?” Charlotte asked. “I haven’t checked yet but I honestly hope not… I’ve never managed to understand a single thing when she explained her research to me…” Robbe said while laughing. This made Sander laugh, he fully understood his boyfriend. He also didn’t know, most of the time, what his mum was talking about when she explained her work to him. 

13:47

After a wonderful lunch, Robbe’s mum had to leave to go to work. Her shift in the university hospital as an intensive care nurse is going to start at 15:00. It had been a difficult year for his mum. First, last year she had to be taken up in a psychiatric ward to recover from the breakup of her marriage and just weeks after she returned to work the corona virus struck and caused the workload to skyrocket. She had seen people die and colleagues falling ill. She feared getting ill and even more so that she might then in turn infect Robbe… Luckily, this had never happened, she had never gotten it. At least not so far… While the pandemic had died down, there was still the occasional patient, some actually currently fighting for their lives in her ward. It would still take several more months before a vaccine was expected and hence the fear was still there… 

After saying bye to his mum, Robbe and Sander walked to the flat share to meet up with Zoë, Senne and Milan. “Shall chance or God provide the path?” Sander suddenly asked. “What?” Robbe said confused. “Remember our discussion about that life is a bit like a movie and that we have the direction in our own hands?” Sander explained, “you disagreed, so is it chance or God that provides the path?”. “Actually…” Robbe said, “I think we were both right… I think that there are infinite number of parallel universes in which all options are tried out but in each universe each person is the director of their own life and is able to make any decision…”. “I like that idea…” Sander said, “But I am sure that we choose each other in each and every universe…”. “No doubt about that” Robbe replied, pulling his boyfriend towards him for a kiss. 

14:16

The door was opened by Milan. “Hey cuties!” Milan said welcoming. “Hey guru” Robbe said, making them all laugh. “Hey Milan” Sander said. The boys walked into the living room where Senne and Zoë were waiting. After exchanging greetings, everyone sat down around the coffee table and Milan brought in the Monopoly game. A few minutes later everyone was ready to play. Sander had chosen the shoe pawn, Robbe the dog, Zoë the horse rider, Milan the hat (“Fashion baby!” he had said while choosing his pawn), and finally Senne had chosen the car. The game started. “I’ve heard that you both will go to Paris next week?” Milan asked Robbe and Sander. “Yes” Robbe said, “A present from my dad”. “Oh nice!” Milan replied but immediately after saying this he noticed that Robbe wasn’t so happy about it. He soon realized that Robbe and his father must still not have the best relationship and that the trip to Paris must have been some kind of peace offering from his dad. “What are you planning to do there?” Zoë asked. “Paris had many art museums” Sander said with a smile. “Well, I hope we will do something else too…” Robbe spoke, looking at Sander with his puppy eyes. “How can I say no when you look at me like that” Sander joked. “You should visit the Moulin Rouge” Milan suggested. “I don’t think that’s something for us. Going to watch woman dance…” Robbe said. He instantly thought back to when he had spoken those same words to Noor. “The Marais district is more your thing…” Milan said. Robbe smiled, the thought of seeing cute boys dance was a much more appealing thought… “Hey hey hey. You’re occupied Mr. Ijzermans!” Sander said in a playful jealous manner. Koala Robbe went behand Sander and hugged him from behind followed by whispering into Sander’s ear: “You and me, 100% forever, in all universes”. A big smile appeared on Sander’s face. “Get a room, you two” Milan joked. Robbe broke the hug and went back to sit down. “How’s Jonathan?” he asked Milan. “Good” Milan said, “He’s busy with his studies now but next week, during the vacation, he has promised to take me to his parents.” “That’s nice” Robbe said. Sander threw a five and moved his pawn forward. “Oh no!” he exclaimed as he stood on the Meir in Antwerp owned by Robbe. “That’s 750 euro” Robbe said with a smile. “You’re expensive” Sander joked. 

Two and a half hours later the game ended and Sander was the clear winner, Senne was second, Zoë third, Robbe fourth, and Milan was last. “Never liked Monopoly” Milan said disappointed causing everyone to laugh as a few months earlier he had loved it when he won. The two boys sadly had to leave. Sander had a surprise for Robbe and they had to get somewhere in time… Robbe was curious and he knew Sander always came up with unexpected things so he never failed to amaze Robbe. Sander’s surprises were always over the top. Not just a normal hotel room in a regular hotel but a penthouse suite in a four star hotel. What was this evening going to bring??? 

18:32 

They arrived at ‘het Sportpaleis’ (an arena in Antwerp where events such as concerts are organized). “Surprise!” Sander shouted to Robbe as he gave him a ticked for a David Bowie Tribute concert. It would feature musicians who had actually performed with Bowie. Robbe could see the joy in Sander’s eyes. The boy was so excited about tonight. “But there’s more” Sander said, “I have VIP tickets, a business gift from one of my dad’s business relations. We actually will meet the artists backstage!” Sander had done it again… Robbe had not expected this surprise. While just over a year ago Robbe had barely known anything about Bowie… He had struggled, delving into the depths of his brain to come up with the title of a single Bowie song and embarrassingly he got it wrong. “hmmm, Space Cowboy, isn’t that one of his songs?” Robbe had answered Sander causing Sander to laugh. But since then Robbe had started to listen to Bowie’s oeuvre and he honestly liked it all. He hadn’t become a Bowie fan to please Sander, he just had always been a Bowie fan but he didn’t know it before meeting Sander as he had not encountered his music before. It was ignorance on Robbe’s part… 

23:14

The concert had been mind-blowing! “Thank you sweetie!” Robbe said. “It was amazing! Thank you so much to take me to this concert! Robbe said while smiling. “You’re welcome!” Sander replied. “I am really lucky to have such an angel in my life” Sander said making Robbe blush. Robbe put his arm around Sanders back and Sander repeated the gesture. Together with their arms wrapped around each other’s back they walked to the bus stop to take the bus home. 

**Sunday October 25th, 2020**

00:21  
The boys got back to Robbe’s house. Robbe’s mum was still awake, she had gotten back from her work just half an hour earlier and was eating something light before she would go to bed. “There you are my boys! How was your day? And what was Sander’s mystery surprise?” she asked them. After a bit of chit-chat with his mum including a description of the amazing concert, the three went to bed. His mum immediately went to bed but Robbe and Sander had their usual shower together before bed. Robbe still felt a bit uncomfortable about this with his mum at home… He wondered if she had a clue about what they were doing… But Robbe liked it too much, so that his mum was home would not stop him from having sex with Sander. At the end of January, when the two boys started to stay over at each other’s virtually every weekend, Robbe’s mum had taken her ‘parental duty’ to talk with Robbe about safe sex. She was a nurse after all… This had been one of the most uncomfortable moment’s that Robbe ever had with his mum. He had no intention to discuss his sex life with her, nor to admit that he and Sander had stopped using protection before she even knew of their relationship. Sander had, for absolute certainty, taken an STD test which was negative and Robbe was still a virgin before meeting Sander. Sander only had had a single partner before Robbe and he had always used protection with Britt, mainly because she was paranoid about the risk of getting pregnant. 

A long hot shower later the boys were ready to go to bed but they wouldn’t sleep for another one and a half hours…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit goes to o1o0o0o on Instagram to come up with the story of Robbe wearing Sander’s leather jacket to school. 
> 
> Some other FanFics came up with the idea for the movie ‘Moonlight’ and another one talked about Sander drawing on Robbe, I don’t recall which ones these were so if someone knows, let me know and I’ll give proper credit.


	12. City trip to Paris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that some of you must feel that nothing much is happening in this story… We have had 11 chapters of “background story” so far but I promise that everything will change in the next chapter: “The worst day in Robbe’s life”. That’s when everything will change and we’ll enter into an “alternative universe” that is quite distinct from the canon story… It took me 12 chapters to get there because I wanted to explore the relationships and backgrounds of the characters before smashing everything to pieces… But before we get there, please stay with me for one more “fluff” chapter of Robbe and Sander…

**Saturday October 31st, 2020**

09:01

As a way to apologize and somewhat restore his relationship with his son, Louis had given Robbe and Sander a free, all-in vacation to Paris for the autumn holiday. Robbe was still angry at his dad but eventually he had accepted it, mainly because he knew how much Sander would enjoy to visit the many museums in Paris. And he would do anything to make his boy happy. ‘His’, that word still sounded unbelievable in his head. 

The two boys meet each other in Antwerp central, the Thalys will leave at 09:33 so the two boys decide to quickly grab a coffee and a sandwich before boarding the high speed train. Sander needed his coffee in the morning… 

11:35 

The Thalys arrived at Paris Nord. “Robbe?” Sander said as he saw his boy sunk in his thoughts not aware that the Thalys had just arrived at their destination. “Oh, we have arrived already?” Robbe said in surprise. He had been thinking about events that had happened in his life recently. He couldn’t shake off the idea that forces behind his back were shaping events. That’s Sven’s reappearance in his life or this trip to Paris from his father were not ‘coincidental’ but part of some kind of larger plan… Yes, his father had given him and Sander this trip to apologize for his girlfriend’s behaviour but Robbe thought that there was more behind it. His father didn’t typically apologize to his son. He had never apologized for abandoning him and his mother either. 

12:56

The boys arrived at the beautiful hotel that Louis had reserved for them. The hotel had five stars on Booking and was located just 600 meters away from the Champs Elysées. The hotel was completely Sander’s taste because it employed dualities in colour. The beautiful neo-classical façade was a cold white while the lounge was decorated in various warm earth tones and the room was even more Sander’s taste because it employed the duality of white and black. Sander checked the bathroom and he liked what he saw. He and Robbe were going to have a good time there… Suddenly, Robbe grabbed Sander from the back. He knew exactly what Sander was thinking. The two boys could virtually read each other’s minds… “That’s for later… Now we are going to explore Paris” he whispered in Sander’s ear. Sander turned around and kissed Robbe before saying “Come!” as he walked out of the hotel room. 

The boys grabbed a sandwich to eat on the go. They were too excited about exploring the city that they didn’t want to take time to sit down for a proper lunch. The first stop for the boys was the Musée d'Orsay.

14:19

The boys arrived at the Musée d'Orsay. Sander’s eye gets pulled towards a painting of a staircase full of people holding flags and some guy in the middle who bows down. “Hmmm, what is this?” he asked, not meaning to speak his thoughts. “That’s the reception of the Grand Condé in Versailles in 1674 after defeating William of Orange in the battle of Seneffe. It’s painted by Jean-Léon Gérôme in the 19th century” Robbe said. Sander was startled by Robbe’s seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge. He noticed that Robbe stood on his left while the little information card was to the right. Robbe couldn’t have read it, he must have known. Was Robbe becoming an art expert? Or just good at history? Anyway, Sander was proud of his boy. 

17:11

“My father also arranged dinner for us today” Robbe said while he abruptly grabbed Sander’s hands and pulled him to the entrance of a restaurant. “Wow” Sander said when he noticed it was a three star restaurant. The boys walked in and the maître d' guided them to their table. He handed the two boys the drink cards but they both immediately decided to go for a glass of champagne. After toasting, Robbe said “I have one more surprise for you” and he handed Sander a tiny wrapped box. Sander unwrapped it and opened up the box. He was stunned by what he saw, an angel necklace, the exact same one that Robbe always wore. “So I will always be close to your heart” Robbe said softly. “Thank you so much baby” Sander spoke. He immediately put on the necklace and gave Robbe a thankful look that completely melted Robbe. Sander had this ability to look at Robbe in a way that would make anyone’s heart melt…

22:19

The boys got back to the hotel and Sander stated “I am really up for a hot long shower”. “Me too” Robbe said with a smile. The two boys stripped down and got into the shower. They started kissing while the warm water was raining down on their skins. Sander’s hands moved from Robbe’s head downwards, across his back eventually grabbing his bum. Robbe was tingling with excitement. Sander’s hands felt so divine. “I love you” Sander said without parting his lips from Robbe’s. “I love you too” Robbe replied. Robbe broke the kiss and went down to kiss Sander’s neck, then collarbone, and finally his nipples. Sander was really sensitive in his nipples and the feeling of Robbe’s lips and tongue against them felt divine. Robbe came back up and kissed Sander on the mouth. Sander pushed Robbe against the wall and went down on him. Robbe started to moan in absolute ecstasy... Sander knew exactly how to please Robbe… He know every square centime of his boys body… He knew exactly where to kiss, lick, rub, though,… to get maximum effect. Robbe’s mind was going crazy… 

**Sunday November 1st, 2020**

09:28

After having breakfast in their hotel the two boys head out for another day of exploring the city of light. This day was completely planned by Robbe and was going to be a surprise for Sander. Robbe had told him that they would not visit a single ‘art museum’ today, at least not one in the classical sense… But he reassured Sander that he would love every part of the day. This naturally made Sander very curious to what his boyfriend was up to… 

It was a cold morning in Paris and not even after more than a few minutes Sander already regretted to wear his thin leather jacket instead of his tick padded jacket. To save Sander from the icy wind, Robbe suggested to take the metro and after a short ride the two boys arrived at Place Monge. After a short walk they arrived at the botanical garden and zoo of Paris. Sander felt dreaded because this would mean spending hours outside in the cold. But to his surprise, this was not where Robbe was heading. Instead he took Sander to a small museum located inside the park called the ‘Galerie de Minéralogie et de Géologie’, part of the National Museum of Natural History. They walked into a room in which all the walls were covered with cabinets displaying various minerals. In the middle of the room were the giant pieces located. Pieces that were up to two meters tall, like a massive geode that was cut open to reveal thousands of purple amethyst crystals on the inside. It was magnificent, minerals in every colour imaginable decorated the cabinets: yellow, red, purple, blue, green,… Some had dull colours but many were very bright. Some were giant crystals that sparkled in the light, others were made of hundreds of tiny needle shaped crystals that looked like sea urchins. Sander was attracted to an intense blue stone, a piece of cavansite according to the label. Then he saw a bright red cubed shaped cluster of crystals, rhodochrosite according to the label. Clusters of shiny needle-shaped orange crystals, crocoite the label said. Sander was astonished by the beauty around him. Then finally Robbe spoke: “I think that the treasures of the earth are pieces of art too. Sadly, people don’t give them the same attention as they do with paintings or other art”. “They are focking beautiful” Sander replied, “Thank you so much for bringing me here”. Then Robbe said: “Come, I want to show you something else”. He took Sander to what, from a distance, looked like a painting of fruit and flowers but as he walked closer he could see that it was not painted. It was made by cutting coloured stones into various shapes that fit together like a puzzle to create an image. “Wow”, Sander said, immediately realizing the skill and effort it would take to create a piece like that. Sander immediately took out his camera and instructed Robbe to pose in front of the piece. Next, Robbe took a picture of Sander in front of the piece. 

12:59

After a quick lunch in a typical Parisian restaurant, the two boys were on their way to the next surprise. “I hope you have left some space in your stomach” Robbe said with a smile as he took Sander into the chocolate museum. Sander loved chocolate and as he walked in the smell of chocolate enchanted him. Another wonderful surprise, Robbe knew his boy well. The museum was filled with sculptures made entirely of chocolate: a giant chocolate Eiffel tower, elephants, Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc du Triomphe,... Another exhibit featured fashion made from chocolate: hats, dresses, shoes, handbags,… All beautiful pieces of artisanal craftwork by master chocolatiers. But, in Sander’s opinion, the best part of the visit was the tasting session in which he could sample a wide diversity of different chocolates. He enjoyed trying chocolates made from cacao from different countries: Peru, Tanzania, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana,… Robbe tried Ruby chocolate for the first time. It blew his mind. This was not what he had expected. It looked different due to its pink colour but it also tasted quite different from ordinary chocolate. It had a certain acidity to it and flavour-wise it made him think of white chocolate with raspberries. Because it was not overly sweet (like white chocolates tend to be) or heavy like dark chocolate it would be treacherous as one could easily overconsume it without noticing… 

15:37

The two boys arrived at their final museum for the day. “A chemistry museum?” Sander asked surprised. “Yes, the museum of Pierre and Marie Curie.” Robbe said. “You should read Marie’s biography” he told Sander. “She was born in Poland and moved all alone to France where she worked hard to pay her studies. Her first years were extremely hard. For example, in the winter she had to wear all the clothing she owned to keep warm as she couldn’t afford to heat her apartment. But she persisted and against all odds she became the first female faculty member at the École Normale Supérieure, the first female Nobel laureate, the only woman in history to win two Nobel prizes, the first female professor at the University of Paris,…” Robbe explained. “And did you know that at the famous Solvay conferences that brought together the leading chemists and physicists from around the world she was the only female present during the first six conferences! 17 of the 29 people invited to the 5th conference ended up as Nobel laureates…” Robbe continued, “Her daughter and her husband won a Nobel prize as well. Hence, the Curie family holds a total of 5 Nobel prizes, a record that will not be broken any time soon…”. It was Zoë who had told Robbe about Marie Curie, as a female role model during a time when females were excluded from the academic world. Sander started to see why Robbe had brought him to this place. 

Over the next days the boys visited the Louvre museum, Rodin museum, Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée Marmottan Monet, Musée de l'Orangerie, Petit Palais, Musée national du Moyen Âge, Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral (only from the outside), Sainte-Chapelle, Basilica of Saint-Denis, and the Panthéon. 

**Friday November 6th, 2020**

03:19

The boys were woken up by sirens. Robbe got up and looked though the window and he noticed a big fire in the distance… “What is it?” Sander asked. “Some fire, so it probably was the fire trucks that we heard” Robbe stated while returning to bed. Soon the two boys were asleep again in each other’s arms. 

07:30

The two boys were awakened by Robbe’s alarm. Today they were returning home with the Thalys of 10:25. Sadly there nice little holiday was over. It was so nice to spend a whole week together. Just the two of them. Nobody else to interrupt or to make Robbe feel shy. The boys cleaned up the room, packed their bags and went down to have breakfast. After breakfast the two boys checked out of the hotel and walked out towards Paris North station. They were shocked to see lots of armed soldiers on the street. What was going on? Robbe took his phone and opened the webpage of his favourite newspaper. The headline read: “Martial law declared in France!” “OMG!” Robbe said in a state of shock when he read that protestors had put the ministry of finance on fire last night (that’s what he had seen) and that in response the French President had instituted martial law and send the army into the streets of Paris to stop further unrests. Luckily the two boys were just going home because all museums and other attractions were also ordered to be closed. The Belgian department of Foreign Affairs called upon all Belgian citizens to leave the Paris area and avoid other places of protest around France. They also gave a negative travel advice for France saying that unless you had important urgent affairs in France all Belgian citizens should cancel any travel plans to France. And while Robbe was happy that he was leaving France, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the French people who were suffering so much from the financial crisis that had hit their country… 

But in Robbe and Sander’s lives, everything was perfect… He and Sander formed one happy family. He was blissfully unaware of how his world would come crashing down in just one week… How his cute little world was going to shatter in pieces… Leaving him broken and betrayed behind… Nothing will ever be the same again… 

Next chapter: The worst day in Robbe’s life


	13. The worst day in Robbe’s life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning, this is an extremely dark chapter. 
> 
> Chapter 13, Friday November 13th is this coincidence or cosmic predestination that this is when everything changes??? 
> 
> BTW, could any of you imagine Britt becoming a nun?
> 
> Funny, I noticed just as I uploaded this chapter that this work had exactly 2121 views. Friday 21:21 :)

**Friday November 13th, 2020**

06:30

Robbe wakes up all excited. It’s a Friday and no he’s not excited just because the school week is over… The main reason is obviously that the two boys sleep together in the weekends. This weekend they would stay over at Sander’s… And Robbe’s excitement was stimulated further by Sander who had hinted that he had some surprises planned for this weekend… After all, they were together for one year now (yesterday it was exactly one year ago that Robbe went to the art academy to tell Sander that he loved him). And Robbe knew that Sander took such anniversaries very seriously… He must have planned many special surprises for his baby… Nine and a half hours left until he would see Sander… Robbe was counting down the minutes… 

07:45

Robbe arrived at school. “Hey” he said with a big smile. “Someone is happy today” Aaron noted. “It’s Friday” Jens said with a wink. “Yep, he’s going to get laid tonight” Moyo teased. Robbe started to blush… “While you and Jens have only yourselves and toothpaste…” Aaron teased. “Amber doesn’t seem to me like the most libertine person either…” Moyo stated. “You would be surprised…” Aaron countered. “Dudes!” Jens said, “I don’t want to know that”. “We were thinking of doing a blog tomorrow. Will you and Sander join us?” Jens asked. “Sounds fine” Robbe said, “I would obviously have to check with Sander. It could be that he had already something else planned…”. “He really does a lot of effort for you…” Jens said. Robbe smiled “I am so lucky to have him.” 

09:53

Robbe was walking towards his locker when he passed by Yasmina. “Hey! How was your vacation to Paris?” she asked. “Fantastic! I wished we could have stayed an extra week… Or maybe not as it ended with martial law…” Robbe said, “Any developments between you and Yousef?” Yasmina started to blush. “Keep your voice down” she whispered while pointed with her eyes in the direction of Amber who was standing a few meters away. “So, it’s still top secret” Robbe teased. “It’s not that… but you know how the girls are… I prefer not to have the whole school interrogating me about my life…” Yasmina said, “But I am making some progress… This weekend he’s taking me to visit his parents for the first time”. “You’ve not met them yet…” Robbe said surprised as he remembered Yasmina saying that his parents didn’t approve of their relationship. “No, I’ve not. They only know me through what Yousef has told them and I only know them through what he has told me…” She explained. Robbe could see how nervous and scared Yasmina looked so he tried to make her feel better by saying: “Maybe it will go better than you think”. “No” she replied, “Yousef has made it clear to me that they expect his girlfriend to be from a ‘good family’”. “You’re a good person. You’re smart, funny, strong, beautiful,…” Robbe was trying to make her feel better. “But I am not wealthy and my parents are not executives, top politicians, or famous Hollywood actors” she countered. “They are that superficial?” Robbe asked. “Yes” Yasmina said, “According to Yousef they are”. “I’ll cross my fingers for you” Robbe said. “Thank you” Yasmina replied, “Have fun this weekend!”. “Thanks, you too” Robbe said before walking away. 

12:17

Robbe was having lunch in the cafeteria together with Zoë. “Any plans this weekend?” Zoë asked. “Probably making a vlog with the broerrrs. But Sander must also have something planned because it’s our one year anniversary” Robbe said, “You?” “Nice! Congratulations with your anniversary. You’re and Sander are such a good couple” she said, “Senne is taking me to a party”. “Nice, so things are going fine between you two?” Robbe asked. “Yes” Zoë said, “We’ve started to respect each other’s needs more. Senne has his own place now and he never wakes me up again when coming from parties.” “How is Milan doing? It has been a while since I’ve talked with him” Robbe asked. “He’s fine, happily in love with Jonathan. In fact, Jonathan now pretty much lives at our place… We’ve talked and next month Jonathan will start to share in the rent of the apartment. So yeah, their relationship is getting more serious…” Zoë explained. “That’s so nice. I am so happy that Milan has found happiness” Robbe stated. 

13:13

Robbe was bored. Math is boring, he felt. So, while his teacher was going on about differential equations Robbe took his phone, hidden behind his desk so the teacher wouldn’t see it, and decided to check messenger. Suddenly, he saw a message that made his heart stop. This couldn’t be true! He couldn’t breathe… It felt like he had just been hit in the chest by a sledgehammer. Tears started to flow like rivers across his cheeks… His whole world just came crashing down. The last year had been the happiest period in his life. All of that was over now. He must have used up every ounce of happiness that the universe had allotted to him over the last year and now darkness and anguish were going to be the only things left in his life. He now understood how Sander must feel like during his dark periods. He was going to feel like that for the rest of his life… Never, ever would Robbe know happiness. Robbe stood up and without even caring to pick up his backpack he ran out of the class. His math teacher screaming behind him “Robbe, come back at once!” but Robbe didn’t even hear his teacher. He didn’t hear anything anymore… His head was spinning… He could barely stand on his legs. He ran through the school to the bicycle park but unlocking his bicycle proved to be impossible in his current state. His hands were shacking so badly that he could not insert the key into the lock. He gave up and decided to walk instead… Or better said run. As he ran out of the school he was nearly hit by an oncoming car. He was so out of the world that he barely noticed anything that was happening around him. The car could luckily stop just half a meter in front of Robbe but Robbe didn’t even look to his side. He simply kept running… 

14:13

Robbe stormed like a hurricane into Sander’s classroom, who was currently in the middle of the portrait drawing class of professor Dumont. His shirt was already soaked by tears and there was no sign that he was going to stop crying any time soon. He ran towards Sander, grasped him and fell through his legs dragging his boyfriend with him to the floor. Robbe kept sobbing, his head resting on sander’s shoulder. “What happened?” Sander asked concerned but he got no reply. Sander remembered what had happened on this day one year earlier but he realized that this could not have been the cause of Robbe’s breakdown. They had talked about it and after the end of the lockdown, Sander had even managed to take Robbe back to the infamous café. Though, the broerrrs had to join them to make Robbe feel safe enough to go back there. No, whatever had happened to Robbe it was unrelated to what happened a year earlier. The teacher saw what was happening and normally he would have been furious when someone would have dared to interrupt his class like that but he could see that this boy, that he didn’t know, seemed to have had a complete mental breakdown. He could only assume that something truly horrific must have happened and so out of sympathy he decided not to say anything. 

Sander could hear Robbe’s insane high heart rate, his boyfriend was shivering uncontrollably, his face showed sadness and pure horror, and the tears… Sander didn’t know that a human could cry that much. He had never seen anything even closely related to this. Sander was in a panic, he desperately wanted to help his boyfriend but he had no clue what had happened and Robbe didn’t say a word. Sander tried to calm Robbe down, tightening his grip around Robbe’s body, whispering in Robbe’s ear “I am here for you baby. Please talk to me, let me help you.” Finally Robbe managed to bring out a few words. ”My life is over…” he said with a mumbling voice. This statement hit Sander like a sledgehammer and he started to run through the darkest scenarios in his mind. Was Robbe terminally ill??? “What do you mean? What has happened?” Sander needed an answer, he begged Robbe for one “Please baby, talk to me”. All Sander’s pleas remained unanswered, Robbe didn’t speak a word…


	14. Minute by minute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains historical inaccuracies that were purposefully introduced for the sake of the story. It may also contain accidental errors as I am not a historian. 
> 
> BTW, did you find all the Easter eggs that suggested this outcome? In the notes of next chapter I will include a list of the hidden Easter eggs.

**Friday November 13th, 2020**

14:27

Fourteen minutes had passed since Robbe had stormed into Sander’s classroom and he was still on the floor in Sander’s arms crying continuously. The tears had in the meantime created a large wet spot on the shoulder area of Sander’s t-shirt. He felt physically broken. Every fibre in his body hurt. It was as if a truck had driven over him. He wanted to tell Sander what was wrong but he couldn’t. His mind was spinning so rapidly that he couldn’t find a way to form a coherent sentence. In his mind he kept hearing the song “Rescue My Heart” from Liz Longley as a way of screaming to Sander to rescue him but he couldn’t say it. 

Suddenly the door of the classroom opened and several police officers walked in. They asked for ‘Robbe Ijzermans’. Robbe was in too much distress to even notice what was happening around him so obviously he didn’t reply but a classmate of Sander pointed the officers to the boy crying on the floor. Weirdly, the police officers did nothing but stand there and watch…

14:58

Robbe still was on the ground in Sander’s arms and hadn’t spoken a word. The police officers also had stood there and silently watched the whole spectacle. Everyone was completely confused about the situation. Then the door of the classroom opened again and multiple man in suits came walking in. One of them, who was clearly in charge, showed his badge and announced “Special agent Thompson, State Security Service”. He instructed the police officers that they could leave now, the State Security took it over from here. Sander could not even imagine scenarios anymore about what could be happening. Surely, the State Security Service only deals with terrorists and the like and his angel was not a terrorist... 

Suddenly, Sven walked into the room and said loud and with full authority “Everyone out!”. “Also you” he said referring to the agents of the State Security Service. Sander didn’t know if this was referring to him as well but he could anyway not leave the room as Robbe was holding onto him as if his life depended on it. Hearing Sven’s voice caused a sudden change in Robbe from extreme sadness to extreme anger. “Leave me alone!!!” he yelled so loud that the whole school could hear him. “You and my dad, I hate you both! You’re poison! I was finally happy with Sander and now you guys had to come in and destroy my life! How dare you!” Robbe fulminated. Robbe realized that Sven’s sudden reappearance in his life had not been an accident. Sven had skilfully moved the pieces around on the chessboard and Robbe was the king… “Everything was a lie” Robbe spoke with sadness. “You’ve manipulated me! Used me!” Robbe said with a mix of anger and sadness. 

“Robbe” Sven said. “All I’ve done, I’ve done for you. I genuinely care a lot about you and only want the best for you. I know that the current situation can feel daunting… But I will be by your side the whole way and I am sure that Sander will too…” Sven explained. “Don’t you dare to speak about Sander!” Robbe said with rage. “You want to break us apart!” Robbe sobbed. “What?!” Sven replied in pure disbelief. “No, Robbe, I think that Sander is the best thing that has ever happened to you. I believe that he’s your soulmate. He’s your Yin to your Yang. I would never even dream about trying to break you apart.” Sven said with a sad voice. He had not expected that Robbe could think that Sven had wanted to drive them apart. “Yeah, right” Robbe stated. “You will want me to marry some appropriate girl and produce an heir” Robbe said with sorrow. “There’s no reason for why gay couples could not have an heir…” Sven replied.

“Well, and then there’s the fact that you probably think that Sander is good enough for me. He’s just an artist and his parents…” Robbe said in disgust. “I think that the son of the duke of Guise is a very appropriate match for you” Sven replied back. Robbe was completely stunned by this sudden revelation. “Yes” Sander admitted, “my father, Charles, is the duke of Guise”. Sven smiled and said “Robbe meet His Serene Highness prince Sander Alphonse Charles Henry de Lorraine. Sander meet His Royal Highness prince Robbe Louis Phillipe Marie d’Orléans or well since this morning his name is changed to de France”. “Wait!” Sander spoke in pure disbelief, “You’re a descendant of Monsieur, the younger brother of king Louis the fourteenth of France???” Before Robbe could answer, Sven already spoke “Yes, Robbe is the first line male descendant of Philippe. And as such he is, since 10:07 this morning, dauphin de France”. “The fifth French republic has fallen… France is again a kingdom and with the death of king Louis the sixteenth and his son the line of succession has shifted to the Orléans branch of the Royal family. Robbe’s father is the current head of the Orléans family and since this morning he is Louis XX king of France and Navarre.” Sven explained.

“But I should introduce myself before we continue. I am the current prince de Condé, the premier Prince du sang and duke of Enghien. And I am here in name of the French government.” he stated. Robbe has stopped crying and was feeling a bit better now. He truly believed Sven when he said that he had no intension to ever drive him and Sander apart. But Sven could see the doubt that still lingered in Robbe’s eyes. So out of the blue Sven asked the most unexpected question “Robbe, do you plan to marry Sander?”. Robbe was completely surprised by this question but he replied “Yes, we weren’t planning on doing it any time soon but we’ve actually already talked about it and it’s something we both want.” The shock was increased by Sven’s next question: “Can we set a date?” “For example, your birthday next year, the 20th of August, when you turn 18” Sven suggested. All this completely surprised the two boys. Sander was definitely not going to say ‘no’, he had already fantasized about marrying Robbe just one month after he first talked to Robbe at the sea. For Robbe all this was going a bit too fast. He had been a complete mess just minutes before and now they were discussing what would be the best day in his life, the day that he announces to the world that Sander is his.

“I am sorry, I know that this is all happening very quickly for you Robbe… And you’ve not had time to consider all that has happened today. I truly wish I could give you that time… But the country doesn’t have time to wait… The business of government needs to continue… And you’re part of the state now…” Sven explained. “Because…” Sven started but had to pause. How was he going to tell this news to Robbe? How was he going to break Robbe’s heart again. He felt horrible, it wasn’t his fault, he was just the messenger and he had begged Robbe’s father not to do it. Almost two hours long he tried to talk reason into him. Tell him not to hurt his son again. He had already hurt Robbe so much when he left his wife, robbe’s mother. Robbe was left all alone to pick up the pieces, to care for his mum who had completely broken down. But no matter how much Sven tried he could not change his father’s determination. All he could do is to beg for a few hours of time to go to Robbe and prepare him for the shock that was about to come…


	15. The return of the King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Willem III enters the story 😊 (For those that don’t know it, that’s the nickname of one of the producers of the series 😉 )
> 
> I promised that everything was going to change… Turns out IJzermans and Driesen are not their real names but both boys used these names for anonymity so that they could live a ‘normal’ life. 
> 
> Don’t think that the drama is over after the big reveal. Here WTFock is turning into Game of Thrones… 
> 
> I am happy to announce that I’ve decided to slightly change the original plans (to end this series mid 2021). Instead I will add thereafter a few more chapters about what happens in the two boys lives in the decades thereafter… Including their children and the like… 
> 
> Trigger alert: Mentions of a racist incident

**Friday November 13th, 2020**

15:08

Eventually Sven took all his courage together and started to say: “I’ve talked long with your father today. Believe me, I’ve tried everything I could to make him change his mind. I am so sorry that I’ve failed you. But your father has once again decided to evade all responsibility and dump everything on you. He will abdicate later today…”. The look on Robbe’s face turned to pure horror “You’re telling me that I am going to become king of France today??? I am 17… What the fock!!!! How could he do that to me!!!” In his head all he could hear was an endless repetition of the song ‘Crown’ by Stormzy, especially the sentence “but heavy is the head that wears the crown” is stuck in an endless loop in his mind. “Yes, but technically you will not rule until August twentieth next year. Until than I will be your regent” Sven stated. It looked like Robbe had not registered a single word of what Sven had just told him. 

Sven took a few steps back and got his phone out of his pocket. He dialled Robbe’s father’s number: “Your majesty! I’ve explained everything to Robbe and Sander but I am afraid that I have to beg you to please, please give your son one night to process all of this before throwing him into the fire… He’s unable to stand on his legs and is barely able to mumble a sentence to me… There’s no way that he can give a press conference in front of the whole world press this evening announcing his rule…”. After a few minutes Sven returned. The best news he had is that Robbe’s father had reluctantly agreed to postpone his abdication to the next morning. Sven called the State Security Service agents back into the room and instructed them to escort Robbe back to his house. 

16:42

Back home no time was wasted. Sven had already called a physician to give Robbe some sedative drugs to calm him down and have some sleep. He asked Sander to call his parents to immediately come over to Sven’s place. The news that Robbe’s father was king of France had not been made public yet. The whole French cabinet and president who had resigned this morning were waiting together with Louis at the Élysée Palace to release the news as soon as Robbe had been informed. Now that Robbe was informed the news could be released any minute and he hoped to inform Sander’s parents in person before they heard it through the media. He also knew that it wouldn’t take long before journalists would show up at Sander’s parents place so he needed to get them away from their home before the news leaked out. He left Sander and Robbe alone in the bedroom and went to wait in the living room. Robbe was laying on the bed on his side and Sander was laying behind him with his arm over Robbe holding him tightly. The drugs and the safe presence of Sander holding him eventually made Robbe drift away to sleep... 

17:07

Sander’s parents arrived at Sven’s home. Sander had sounded confused, emotional, and unsteady on the phone and he had told him that it was important that they came ASAP so his parents had rushed over. The door was opened by one of the agents of the State Security Service. “Hello, we’re Sander’s parents, he called us to come immediately and gave us this address” Isabelle said. “Welcome your highnesses” the agent said. Sander’s parents were surprised that a guy that they didn’t know apparently knew what few people knew… The agent lead them to the living room where a young man in his early 30s with blue eyes and brown curly hair was waiting for them. When Sander’s parents walked in he stood up and walked towards them sticking out his hand. “Welcome your highnesses. I am Sven, I am family of Robbe” he said. “Hello Sven” his parents said. Isabelle asked “Where is Sander?” “He’s with Robbe in the bedroom. Todays events were an emotional rollercoaster for Robbe and the doctor had to give him some sedatives… He’s sleeping now and Sander is not leaving his side… I don’t think either boy will come out before tomorrow morning…” “What events?” Isabelle asked. “This morning at 10:07 the fifth French republic has fallen after months of unrest. It was clear that the current situation could not be sustained…” Sven explained. “I don’t get it. Why would Robbe be so affected by that news?” Isabelle was completely confused. “Because the French republic has been replaced by the French monarchy. Since 10:07 this morning Robbe’s dad is Louis XX, King of France and Navarre” Sven said. Sander’s parents were in complete disbelief. “What? Is this some kind of joke?” Charles said irritated. “No” Sven answered and he turned the TV on. The news had in the mean time been leaked… 

“Welcome at an extra news!” the newsreader said. “This morning at 10:07 the French republic has ended with the resignation of the President, the cabinet and the Parliament. In complete secrecy a Congress of the French Parliament took place this morning at Versailles and approved a change to the French constitution that changes France from a republic back into a monarchy. The proposal passed with a 71% majority and hence the two thirds requirement for amending the constitution was met. Immediately thereafter the parliament voted to disband itself and the government resigned. The line for succession of the French throne lead to a Belgian citizen. The 51 year old Louis, duke of Orleans who descended from the younger brother of Louis the fourteenth. He’s now known as Louis the twentieth. King Louis was born in Antwerp where he got married to Charlotte, the princess Palatine. The couple got one son, crown prince Robbe but divorced last year. Thereafter, he started a relationship with Marie, countess de Beauchamp. The couple lives together in Sint-Martens-Latem. Louis studied law at the University of Antwerp and has been a successful business lawyer for the last 25 years. His son, crown prince Robbe is currently 17 years old and studies Economy-Math at the ‘Koninklijk Atheneum Berchem’. He has a boyfriend, Sander, who studies art at the ‘AP Hogeschool’ in Antwerpen…” While the newsreader was talking photo’s from Robbe and Sander’s Instagram account were shown.  


Sven turned the TV off. Sander’s parents were still in complete disbelief. “There’s something that the media doesn’t know yet…” Sven said, “King Louis is going to abdicate tomorrow so Robbe will succeed him”. “Wait, what?” Isabelle said. “Yes, tomorrow Robbe will become King of France and Navarre” Sven said, “As he’s a minor he cannot yet rule himself so I have been asked to function as his regent.” “I’ve asked Sander to call you to come over because by now the media will have besieged your home… You can stay here for the night. Tomorrow we all travel together to the Élysée Palace in Paris. “But what about our jobs?” Isabelle asked. “That life is behind us now. You’ll soon become members of the French royal family…” Sven said. “Wait what do you mean? Soon become members…” Isabelle asked. Sven realized he had spilled things he shouldn’t have… “Well, I guess that one day the boys will… marry” Sven stated. “Oh” Isabelle said. She realized that Sven seemed to know more about the subject and that he had spoken without thinking. “Ok, you should come with us to Paris tomorrow for a few days… Just to provide moral support to Robbe and Sander. After that you can return home and pick up your normal lives at least until…” Sven suggested. 

**Saturday November 14th, 2020**

04:11

Robbe finally woke up after nearly 11 hours of sleep. The events of last day had completely drained all his energy. He still felt empty on the inside and the horror of what was about to happen today hit him as soon as he had regained enough clarity in his mind to remember what had happened. Sander had been awake for several hours but had not left his boyfriends side. Robbe had always been there for him when he had an episode, he was going to repay his debt by doing everything he could to help his little angel during this difficult period in his life. Sander saw the horror in Robbe’s eyes and he spoke “Robbe, look at me… Remember what you told me… Minute by minute. I will stay by your side. Let us take this day minute by minute. And now we are going to kiss…”. “That’s chill” Robbe said without even the intension of repeating the same words as last year. Feeling Sanders soft lips on his own brought some immediate relief to Robbe’s troubled mind. Sander had such a powerful effect on him… It was in a way surreal… Even in the darkest of times a kiss from Sander would bring a moment of absolute bliss to Robbe. 

10:11

Everyone was ready to leave to Paris. Agents had gone to Sander’s house and to Charlotte’s house to collected important stuff like computers, clothing, Sander’s sketch books,... With hundreds of journalists in front of both houses it would be madness for the boys or their parents to go and pick up the stuff from their houses themselves… No journalists had discovered Sven’s place so far so the plan was to sneak out in secret, so no cars with sirens and emergency lights or visible police escort. 

14:14

The cars arrived at the Élysée Palace. The Republican Guard, which had been renamed Royal Guard, was waiting outside with their sabres presented. The boys were welcomed by King Louis and the former French president. The trio posed in the Hall of Honour for a handshake in front of the assembled world press. Immediately thereafter Robbe was taken up the stairs to the Salon Doré, the room typically used by French presidents as their office. Currently, it was still officially the office of his dad but he had not used the room yet. Immediately after Louis’ abdication this office would go to the regent of France and in 10 months when Robbe would rule himself this would become his office. 

14:37

Sven started to brief Robbe about his future role. “You kind of could compare your role with that of the former French president… Outside of a few details everything else is pretty much identical. The biggest difference obviously is that you have no term limit and don’t need to be elected. All the documents you sign will be subject to countersigning by one of your ministers. Previously it stated that this had to be the prime minister but under the new constitution any minister is allowed to countersign your documents. Another main difference is that as King you have full discretion over the creation of new nobles, awarding peerage, as well as revocation of nobility. In addition you can award chivalric orders to people. The new constitution also explicitly states that the power to raise taxes will be at the sole discretion of parliament. This is in line with history… French kings were not allowed to raise taxes without agreement of parliament.” 

“For the rest everything is exactly like the powers of the past French presidents… You appoint the minister of state, that is the new name for the prime minister, but this is subject to approval by parliament. You preside over meetings of the cabinet. With the consent of the minister of state you appoint and can fire all other members of cabinet. You issue executive decisions that are countersigned by a member of your cabinet. Law giving power will remain with parliament and juridical power with the courts. However, you will be able to grant pardons and clemency at your discretion, just like the French president before you could” Sven explained. “What are those?” Robbe questioned. “It’s when you relieve a person from some or all of the legal consequences of a criminal conviction” Sven explained. “Oké” Robbe replied. “All laws voted by parliament have to be promulgated by you, that means that you have to sign them into law. You must do so within 15 days after the final adoption of the law by parliament. You have a suspensive veto over new laws, which means you can ask parliament to re-examine the law but you can only do that once so you cannot block a law against parliament’s will. You however, do have the right to ask the Constitutional Council to review the law and check if it doesn’t violate the constitution before signing it into law. You also have the power to dissolve parliament which leads to new elections, you serve as the chief of the Armed Forces, you appoint many officials in the executive branch of government, you receive foreign ambassadors, and appoint some members of the Constitutional Council. You can also invoke emergency powers after consulting with the minister of state and the Constitutional Council. During such an emergency you cannot dissolve parliament and they have the right to continue to exercise their powers. But we will discuss these things in way more details in the next days. Try to get some rest and we’ll meet again after your dad has signed his abdication. I need to prepare the paperwork. Here is the first version of the speech I have written for you, read it and let me know if you want any changes.” “Oké” Robbe said and he left with Sander to his new bedroom. 

15:13

Suddenly the door of the Salon Doré opened and Marie walked in. Sven was using the office to discuss the transfer of power with the former French president. “I demand to speak to Robbe” she said. “No, Robbe is busy and he’s still processing everything that has happened the last 24 hours. He needs some rest now, so I cannot grant your request” Sven replied. “I am the Queen of France and you’ll do as I tell you!” Marie yelled. “No Madam, you’re not. You’re not married to the King, so you’re not the Queen of France.” Sven calmly replied. “Well, future Queen!” she stated, “Bring me to him at once.” “NO!” Sven said more firmly. “Your last hours in this palace have started” Marie said angry, “Enjoy as long as you still can!”. Marie walked out and slammed the door behind her. Sven was not going to stop her from seeing Robbe. She had to find him. He had to talk to his dad and change his mind about his abdication. She would not let Louis give away the throne... 

She saw a boy with middle long black hair and a golden earing who was wearing a grey hoody. “Hey servant!” Marie said, “Bring me to Robbe”. “I am not a servant” the boy said, “I am Jens, Robbe’s best friend”. “Whatever…” Marie replied, “Bring me to him NOW”. “I saw him about 15 minutes ago and he said he needed to be alone for a while” Jens said. “I don’t care what he wants! I must talk to him NOW!” Marie snapped. “Sorry, I cannot help you. If Robbe needs some time alone than we should respect his wishes…” Jens replied. “Do you know who I am! I am his future stepmother! I must speak with my stepson at once!” Marie snapped. 

Marie was not going to let anyone stop her from seeing Robbe. She walked through the palace and opened all doors to look inside. Finally, she found the bedroom. Sander was sitting with his back against the headboard of the bed with Robbe in front of him. Sander had his arms around Robbe while Robbe was reading the speech that Sven had prepared. “Monseigneur” Marie said. “What are you doing here?” Robbe asked. “I come to ask you if you could please talk to your dad” Marie explained. “About?” Robbe wondered. “About him staying on as King” she said. “Sven has tried over two hours to convince him. I’ve never convinced my dad of anything so why do you think I would succeed now” Robbe replied. “You can try… Please…” Marie said. “There’s no point, I cannot change his decision anymore” Robbe said, “I wish I could…”. Marie fell on her knees “Please Robbe, talk to your dad. If you convince him to stay on as King than I will give you permission for your relationship with Sander.” “I don’t need your permission!” Robbe said, very irritated. “I will give you €5M if you change your dad’s mind” Marie tried. “Enough!” Sander said. He got out off bed and pushed Marie out of the room. “Ten million!” she yelled as she was pushed out. Sander locked the door. She kept hitting the door and screaming outside. Robbe took the phone and called the security to have Marie escorted away. 

16:38

Robbe had no intension of seeing his dad or Marie so while Louis was going to sign his abdication in the ‘Salon d'Argent’ Robbe stayed in the library several rooms away. Suddenly he could hear Marie yelling: “Don’t you dare to sign! If you sign then you’re a loser! I deserve to be queen of France!”. After a few minutes of silence the shouting restarted: “I am done with you! I hate you! Find yourself another girlfriend! Loser! Idiot!”. Robbe knew that this meant his dad had signed his abdication. 

“Why does your dad stay together with such a toxic woman?” Sander asked. “My dad hates to take responsibility and to make decisions. It has been like that forever. Like when I was a child my parents would have fights about everything like for example where we would go on vacation. My mum believes in equality in a marriage and hence would want my dad’s input on the matter while my dad wanted her to make the decision on her own without his involvement. Marie is the exact opposite of my mum, she’s super dominant and my dad likes her for that. I bet he never has to make a single decision anymore, Marie decides everything. But now Marie wants him to be King so that she would be Queen but that would mean that my dad would need to make lots of decisions every single day… That’s why they are fighting now.” Robbe explained. “So he wants a dominatrix as girlfriend?” Sander asked, surprised. He could not imagine such relationships. It sounded abusive in his mind. ‘Yep” Robbe replied. 

17:52

The three boys were sitting in the Salon Doré, Sven’s office now that he officially was regent of France. “Sander, as the boyfriend of the King you deserve a title of your own. I am granting you the titles of duke of Burgundy, Pair of France, duke of Anjou, and duke of Valois. I also make you a knight in the order of Saint-Michel.” Sven said while signing the letters patent. 

“The both of you will need a completely new wardrobe.” Sven stated. “Why?” Robbe asked. “Because as King of France you are expected to only wear French brands to promote French fashion. Your image will appear in magazines and newspapers around the world, ideal PR for the French fashion industry. Did you know that the French fashion industry generates €150 billion in direct turnover, represents 2.7% of French GDP, and employs a million people? The recent COVID-19 crisis has hit the fashion industry hard as the Paris fashion weeks had to be cancelled. So, it’s your duty now to do whatever you can to support this vital industry. We cannot have any more bankruptcies or job losses.” Sven said. “I am sure there are French brands that have everything you need, even Sanders’ boots…” he continued with a wink. “Your parents will similarly have to get rid of all their non-French clothing. Especially your mothers will need to become ambassadresses of French woman’s fashion. BTW, Robbe, here’s a French watch to replace your current one” Sven said. 

Suddenly Sven ask Sander “Could I have a word with Robbe in private?” “Ok” Sander said and he stood up and left the room. “Robbe, I need you to tell me, in full confidence, everything important that had ever happened in your life. Please, understand the importance of being honest with me. I have to protect you from people who will want to hurt you and/or the country. But I can only do that if I know everything that has happened in your life. To be blunt, I need to know the bad stuff. Does anyone have dirt on you that they could use to blackmail you? Do you have enemies? Have you ever been involved in illegal affairs? Are there sex tapes of you in existence? That kind of stuff…”  


As regent it was Sven’s job to protect the king from any ghosts of his past that could return to hunt him. So, in great discomfort, Robbe admitted all kinds of things. From the good like burgling into the swimming pool with Sander to the most nightmarish things like the conversation with Britt at the flat share.

Next, Sven send out Robbe and called Sander back in. He repeated the same questions he asked Robbe and Sander also confessed to the swimming pool burglary, his cannabis use, the garbage truck, and the various murals he had made. But Sven noticed that Sander wasn’t telling everything. He put his hand on Sander’s and reassured him. “Please, you must tell me everything. All you tell me has zero consequences. Nobody will ever know.” Sven said. Sander was getting very nervous. He clearly was hiding some big secret. “I’ve not told this to anyone… Two months before I met Robbe I was out at night spraying… Together with a friend… A friend from Congolese descent… We got busted by some cops and they completely ignored me but started to… Started to say very nasty things to my friend… Racist things… Too horrible for me to repeat them… Then they pushed him on the ground and handcuffed him… They were still ignoring me… But I couldn’t just watch… I called them out for their behaviour… Saying it was wrong… Next, they arrested me too and gave me a fine for defamation… Because I called out their racist behaviour… This incident was the reason that I didn’t want to go to the police with Robbe after…” Sander explained still visibly shaken when recalling the events. “You have nothing to be ashamed off. You did the right thing.” Sven said. 

19:00

“Good evening mesdames et messieurs. This afternoon at 16:42 my dad, his majesty King Louis XX has abdicated the throne for personal reasons. I would like to express, in my own name and that of the full royal family, our sincere gratitude to his majesty King Louis XX for his service to our country.” Robbe said.

After his speech the hands of nearly all journalists went up and they started to yell “Question”. Robbe walked away from the lecturer stand and Sven took his place. “Good evening mesdames et messieurs. I am Sven, prince of Condé and the regent of France. I will take questions. The gentlemen on the second row…” he said while pointing to a journalist. “What is the reason for the abdication of King Louis XX?” the journalist asked? “As his majesty King Robbe said, his dad abdicated for personal reasons” Sven replied. “What personal reasons?” another journalist shouted. “That belongs to his majesties private life” Sven said. “The lady on the first row” Sven said while pointing. “Will the King marry Sander?” she asked. “If his majesty gets engaged it will be announced by his majesty” Sven replied, “The lady on the last row”. “Is a 17 year old capable of leading this country during the hardest financial depression in over 100 years?” she asked. “His majesty is still underaged so the powers of the King currently lay with me, the regent. In the next 10 months, his majesty will receive intense counselling to prepare him for his future task. His majesty is extremely bright so I have no doubt that he will do an excellent job” Sven explained. “The gentlemen on the right” Sven said. “It is being said that the fiancée of his majesty, Marie countess de Beaucamp, was very disappointed about the decision of the King to abdicate the throne” the journalist asked. “No comment” Sven replied, “the lady on the left”. “What are the first priorities on the agenda of the new government?” “Well, first a cabinet has to be appointed. Next, the constitution says that elections need to happen between 20 to 40 days after parliament disbands itself. In the mean time we will start with consultation rounds with the presidents of all political parties, the governors of the Bank of France, representatives of trade unions and employers’ associations, and all the experts on the King’s Economic Council to discuss the current state and start drafting an Economy Recovery Plan” Sven explained. “I am ending the press conference now. A good evening to everyone” Sven said. 

20:29

Sven, Robbe, the Secretary General for National Defence, and the National Coordinator of the National Centre for Counter Terrorism met in a specialized electronic surveillance proof room. Before entering the room everyone removed all their electronic devices. Time for the first top secret briefing of Sven and Robbe about the current affairs that the intelligence community is working on. They also received information about the capabilities of the French intelligence agencies, their sources, and the most likely threats that France faced. Several terrorist groups needed close monitoring and the intelligence agencies were also worried about a few anti-LGBTI hate groups that were not happy that France had a gay King. Of particular worry was a recent offshoot of IS, a group that called themselves “The weapon of god”. The intelligence agencies had already identified several individuals in France which they believed were members of this organization. After the intelligence reports were discussed the two intelligence community leaders were asked to leave the room and the former French president entered who briefed Sven and Robbe on nuclear protocol. “Those horrible devices should not exist” Robbe said with sadness. “Indeed, but sadly they do and some rogue states have them too. So keeping a deterrent is sadly a necessary evil” the former president replied. “I will work to make the world nuke free” Robbe stated. “That’s an admirable but very ambitious goal” the former president replied. “Me being King of France would be considered impossible and even ludicrous just a month ago by everyone, including myself” Robbe stated. “Touché” the former president said with a smile. 

22:47

“A shower before bed, my King?” Sander asked. “Yes, that would be lovely, my prince” Robbe replied while pulling Sander closer for a kiss. The boys went to the bathroom and Sander started to remove Robbe’s clothing. When Robbe was naked he started to remove Sander’s clothing. Soon both boys were naked and in the shower... 

After a quick shower the boys went to bed. Sander laid down on top of Robbe and the boys started to kiss. Robbe broke the kiss and he said “Whatever comes… I will get through it as long as I have you in my life”. “I will always be there for you… Always” Sander replied before kissing Robbe again. He went down, kissing Robbe’s neck, then his chest, going down further to his stomach, his thighs,… “Ooooo…” Robbe started to moan. He put his hands on Sander’s head to feel his hair between his fingers as Sander continued. Suddenly he released his hands and grabbed the bedsheets. Clinching his hands into the sheets as he started to moan more vocally. Moments later Sander’s head popped back up from underneath the blankets. He had a big smile. “Your turn” he said to Robbe who was still coming down from his high. Suddenly Robbe grasped Sander and turned them around so that he was now on top. He started to kiss Sander before moving downwards… Sander closed his eyes and all he could feel was absolute bliss… 

**Sunday November 15th, 2020**

10:22

“Sven?” the King asked. “Yes, your majesty” Sven replied. “I would like to create an LGBTI commission as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to advocate for LGBTI rights around the world. To use our diplomatic power to force change in countries were for example homosexuality is still illegal. I also would like to appoint Milan to head that commission.” “I think that’s a wonderful idea, I formally approve your proposal.” Sven said. 

“Now that were talking about it… It’s really time to start to put together a new government. I have some ideas that I would like to run by you” Sven spoke. “Oké” Robbe replied. “For Chief of Staff I was thinking about your aunt Elisabeth. I know she’s a professor of botany and that’s not the typical profile for that position but she’s intelligent and most importantly she’s absolutely brilliant at making people work together in harmony. And that’s a key skill for a Chief of Staff.” Sven suggested. “I approve of her” Robbe said. “Ok, that’s one. Next, for your personal secretary I suggest Willem III, count of Avignon. He worked in this role for the French president and hence he’s already up to date with everything that is going on in government.” Sven suggested. “Oké” Robbe replied. “Next, we start with your cabinet. I will be your Minister of State. The second most important cabinet position is that of Minister of the Treasury, given the economic disaster we’re in we need the best person for this job. I believe Josephine De la Croix is the perfect candidate for this job. She’s a professor of economics at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. She started her university studies in economics at the age of just 15 at the Université Paris-Dauphine. She graduated with a Master’s degree at age 18, so after 3 instead of 5 years, then she got a Fulbright scholarship that allowed her to pursue PhD studies at the University of Chicago under the supervision of Nobel laureate Milton Friedman. Next, she did a post-doc at the London School of Economics. After her studies she started at one of the largest banks in the world where she rose to the position of CEO in just 7 years. After 14 years at the top of the banking world she moved back to academia, becoming a professor at University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. She won the Nobel prize in economics and authored the acclaimed book ‘A treaty of 21st century macroeconomics’. If anyone can help your country back on its feet, it’s her.” Sven said, making sure to show his confidence in her ability. “Fine” Robbe said, “It sounds like a good choice”. “That’s two” Sven said with a smile. Another half an hour later the full cabinet had been put together. 

15:24

Sven, Robbe, Sander, Isabelle and Charles were sitting together in the Salon Pompadour. They were discussing the role of Sander’s parents in the future. Isabelle was adamant that she wanted to remain active in physics but she was willing to move to Paris and take up a professorship at the University of Paris. Charles could work from anywhere so he did not object against moving to Paris. “As you might have heard, I granted Sander several noble titles today and I would like to extend that to you as well. Therefore, I grant you the duchy of Berry” Sven said to Sander’s parents. “Thank you, your highness” his parents replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hidden Easter eggs:  
> 1\. Sander’s mum is the viscountess Driesen so, unless the marriage is a consanguineous marriage, the changes are low that his father and mother would share the same family name. Indicating that Sander’s real family name is not Driesen.  
> 2\. Few scientists get awarded a title as high as viscount(ess) for their scientific contributions. This suggested that the king might have had other reasons to award her that title.  
> 3\. The card on Robbe’s plate saying ““I, I will be king… And you, you will be king”.  
> 4\. The blue vase containing ‘Yelloween’ lilies and yellow irises is obviously referring to the Royal weapon of France (a blue shield containing three yellow ‘fleur de lis’ which means ‘lily flower’ but actually what is depicted is a stylized iris flower).  
> 5\. Robbe’s reluctance to talk about the political situation in France.  
> 6\. Marie who disliked Sander because she thought he was a ‘commoner’ and hence not good enough for Robbe.  
> 7\. Sander who called Robbe “my prince”.  
> 8\. Sander who said “Monsieur” to Robbe, the traditional style for the younger brother of the French king, namely Robbe’s ancestor Philippe, Duke of Orléans.  
> 9\. Robbe who thought about his gay ancestor Philippe, Duke of Orléans.  
> 10\. Robbe and Sander met Sven for the first time on the 21th of September, the birthdate of Philippe, Duke of Orléans.  
> 11\. Sander who asked Robbe “Shall chance or God provide the path?”, the motto of the House of Guise.  
> 12\. Robbe’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the painting ‘The reception of the Grand Condé’ in the Musée d'Orsay was because this was family history that he had been told about since he was a toddler.  
> 13\. They visit the Basilica of Saint-Denis (mausoleum of the French kings) and the Sainte-Chapelle build by Louis IX. 
> 
> French fashion industry statistics: https://www.gouvernement.fr/en/fashion-and-luxury-goods-0


	16. The second first day of school this year…

**Monday November 16th, 2020**

06:30 

The alarm on his phone woke Robbe and Sander up. Today it was going to be the second first day of school for both of them. Becoming King of France did not mean that Robbe could just drop out of high school. Sander would start studying at the ‘École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts’ in Paris while Robbe will receive private tutoring in his office at the Élysée Palace. Sander’s mum would take care of math and physics. Leading academics from the various Parisian universities would teach Robbe all the other subjects: chemistry, biology, history, geography, and languages. The Minister of the Treasury, Josephine De la Croix, will teach Robbe economics. Finally, the largest part of Robbe’s curriculum, about 30 hours a week, would go to a course he had never before had in school ‘how to govern a country’ taught by Sven, the Regent of France. The new school schedule for Robbe that came on top of any other duties that he had as king would be exceptionally demanding. Generally, his day would start at 07:30 in the morning and not end before 20:00 in the evening, also on weekends. Only nine months remained before Robbe would turn eighteen and take the full responsibility of King of France on his shoulders. By then he had to be ready to wear the crown. And up to this point in his life nobody had taught him all the things he needed to know, from proper protocol, the state structure of France, international diplomacy, to French law and more. The list of topics that he had to master in this short time was daunting and on top of that he had a marriage and a coronation to plan… 

07:30

Robbe walked in his office and found a twenty centimetre tall pile of paper on his desk. Sven told him that these were the most important documents that Robbe had to become familiar with. He would have ten days’ time to read and absorb all the material. “That’s about 500 pages a day!” Robbe exclaimed in total shock. “I’ve put an army of secretaries to work to highlight important sections and annotate the texts to make it easier for you” Sven tried desperately to comfort Robbe’s anxiety. “As you know, we are in severe financial troubles, so I suggest that you start by going through the state’s finances first” Sven said while putting several books in front of Robbe. The first book was the 2020 budget that had been drafted up in 2019. The second was recent evaluation of the state’s finances by the Court of Audit and the final book was a projection made by the Finance Department on the cost of the corona measures that had been taken earlier that year. 

“Sven…” Robbe spoke “I’ve once made a promise to Sander. One that I will never break. I promised him that I wouldn’t become a workaholic like his parents who doesn’t have time for him…”. “I know how much we’re asking of you Robbe. And I can guarantee you that you will get much more free time once you turn eighteen. It’s just the fact that we need to prepare you for a job that you have never been prepared for in just nine months. In seven months from now you will finish your regular education. That will decrease your work load by about twenty hours a week. You’re living with Sander so feel free to study with him. Like you can study in his art studio… But you know what… I promise you I will clear your schedule for this Sunday. I will let nobody disturb you. You can have a whole day together with Sander. I’ll also make sure you get some privacy.” Robbe liked the idea of studying in Sander’s art studio, so he picked up his books and left his office. 

Sander would only have his first class at 10:00 this morning so he would stay in his painting studio in the Élysée Palace until around 09:30. Trying to do some sketches… He was surprised and delighted when he saw Robbe walk in. “Hello my King” Sander said. Robbe smiled and walked over to him “I prefer if you call me baby or so. Everyone already calls me King… It’s nice to have a pet name that is just for the two of us…”. “Sorry baby” Sander said with a smile before grabbing Robbe and pulling him in for a kiss.  


Robbe started to study and suddenly Sander exclaimed “perfect, stay like you are”. He grabbed his sketchbook and started to draw Robbe. 

12:00

After a boring morning of going through financial spreadsheets it was finally time for lunch. Sander had returned for lunch from the art academy. “How was your first class at the academy?” Robbe asked. “We had drawing from live models, my favourite course” Sander replied. “Though I prefer you to be the model” he added with a smile. “Nice” Robbe said. “Yes, I’ve only met them for one hour but my classmates seem nice as well. All are very passionate about art” Sander stated. “How was your morning?” Sander asked. “Horrible!” Robbe stated, “Endless spreadsheets of numbers… Yeah, it’s clear, the French state is in severe financial trouble… I have no clue how we will ever get out of it…”. “Minute by minute” Sander said, “The challenge of fixing the finances as a whole is a daunting task but focus on one problem at the time. Fix spending here, than focus on income there… Etcetera… And eventually without noticing you find that you have successfully climbed mount impossible…”. “Thank you sweetie” Robbe said, “You always know what to say to make me feel better”. Robbe turned to Sander and gave him a kiss. 

It was time for Sander to leave to the academy again. This afternoon he would get his first French class (which was mandatory for all students whose native language was not French). The second language that he had chosen was Italian. Because of the many international exchanges the school demanded that its students would be fluent in multiple languages. 

For Robbe his afternoon would consist of math, history, and geography classes. 

18:13

The King, Sander, and the regent are having dinner together. “I was thinking…” Sander said, “I would like to start an art academy here in Paris. One that uses art as a kind of therapy for young people that struggle with various problems… A school that opens its doors every Wednesday afternoon and on Saturdays to all the youth of Paris where they can come an meet each other and explore a variety of art forms.” “That sounds wonderful” Robbe said. “So, if I understand it correctly you would like to start an art school with regular students and on Wednesday afternoon and Saturdays open the doors to all?” Sven asked. “Indeed” Sander replied, “But also the regular school can serve a social goal. I would like to created scholarships for disadvantaged students. Studying art is expensive as one needs to buy a lot of supplies like paint, brushes, pencils, sketch books, etc… Imagine a scholarship that covers the expenses of those supplies to promising young artists.” “What time are you free tomorrow” Sven asked. “Huh, I have free time around 3PM. Why?” Sander replied. “Good, then I arrange a meeting at 3PM with the Minister of Education so you can inform him about your proposal” Sven stated. Sander was happy with what he heard, a smile appeared on his face “Thank you” he said, “What is the chance that my proposal gets approved?” “Oh, it already is” Sven replied with a wink. “Wow, thank you” Sander said all excited. “Starting a new school will take some time… But I would, if you approve, want to start as soon as possible with a pilot project. I was thinking of calling it the “Youth Art Project” (YAP). We just need some art teachers and on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays we could already have art sessions in some public place like an existing school or sport hall or something…” “I like your enthusiasm” Sven said with a smile. “Our artist” Robbe stated. He knew this statement would melt Sander’s heart and indeed it did. Sander turned to his side and kissed Robbe. 

22:47

The two boys were kissing passionately while trying to take off their clothing. “You’re so beautiful, I love you” Robbe said while he unzipped Sander’s pants. “You too” Sander replied. Moments later the two boys fell naked in bed. Sander was laying on top of Robbe and was kissing him. First on the mouth but then he moved down Robbe’s neck to his collarbone, then his nipples, down his stomach,… “Oooo…” Robbe moaned. It felt so good. Sander always felt good. His soft warm lips caused waves of ecstasy in Robbe’s body. 

**Tuesday November 17th, 2020**

10:16

Louis was at the legendary jeweller Garnet & sons. Here he would find gifts impressive enough to win back Marie’s love. Mr. Garnet showed Louis a wide variety of impressive jewels eventually Louis decided on a necklace of South Sea pearls, a Padparadscha Sapphire and diamond necklace, a Columbian emerald brooch, a ring with a 10 carat yellow diamond, and a set of earrings from Australian black opal. However, he already knew that he would not be able to pay the bill… 

13:55

Louis came home and went to see Marie who was doing business work from her office. They had barely talked with each other since his abdication. Marie avoided him when they were both home and he had to sleep on the sofa. Every time he had tried to talk to her, she had left to her bedroom without saying a word and slammed the door behind her. “Hello my love” Louis said. “What is it?” Marie said annoyed. “I have some presents for you” Louis said. “Oh” Marie said and she turned her desk chair to face Louis. Louis took the jewellery boxes and opened them. “They are for me?” Marie asked. “Yes, my dear” Louis answered. “They are beautiful” Marie said with a smile, “Thank you”. Marie stood up and walked towards Louis. She kissed him. “I love you” Marie said, “You know, this morning I was walking through Paris and I saw the most amazing handbag… It would fit perfectly with that emerald brooch that you gave me, same intense green colour… Just 10 pieces have been made of it…”. “Sounds expensive” Louis replied. “Oh, just €18,000 but you want your future wife to look amazing, right? I am worth it, right?” Marie said while wrapping her arms around Louis. “If that’s what you want… then we’ll go and buy it tomorrow” Louis said. “Thank you my dear! You know what I would like now…” Marie said while breaking her embrace and starting to unzip her dress. Moments later the dress fell to the floor revealing her naked body… She took Louis hand and guided him to the bedroom…

16:42

Louis went to see his son who was currently in Sven’s office discussing the pension crisis that France was facing. “Your majesty, your highness” Louis said when walking in. 

“I am trying to make things right with Marie again…” Louis said. “Should we congratulate or condolence you?” Robbe asked sarcastically. Sven didn’t like Marie either but he still found that question to be inappropriate, “Everyone has a right to happiness and if Marie makes your dad happy…”. “Sorry” Robbe said. “I bought Marie some gifts today… It worked, she forgave me…” Louis said. “Why are you telling us that?” Sven asked. “Because…” Louis started than paused. How was he going to explain this? “I am currently a little low on funds and I was hoping that…” Louis started. “You come to ask that we pay the gifts?” Sven immediately clarified. “Well, maybe you can at least loan me the money and I will pay back as soon as I can…” Louis said. “How much?” Robbe asked. He saw the cheeks of his dad get redder by the minute… “Well, I needed some impressive gifts to convince her to forgive me…” Louis stated. “How much?” Sven now asked as well. “Half a million euro” Louis replied. “What??? Are you insane???” Robbe yelled in disbelief. “I would be equally happy if Sander gave me a drawing than if he gave me half a million in jewels… It’s the gesture that counts, not the value of the gift…” Robbe said. “But you know Marie… She won’t be happy with a cheap handbag or a ring of €500…” Louis said. “The dotation of the King is intended to pay for his staff that helps to run the country, for diplomatic events like receptions and banquets for foreign ambassadors and heads of state,… Not for megalomaniacal gifts for girlfriends. If the people hear about this we would have another revolution… Your request has been rejected.” Sven said. “Robbe…” Louis tried. “As regent I decide on spending… But I am sure his majesty agrees with me” Sven said. “I do” Robbe replied, “It’s preposterous that during a time when 3 million people have lost their jobs, that we had to take an Extended Fund Facility from the IMF, ask Europe to help us with loans,… that you would expect the French tax payer to fund half a million of jewels for your girlfriend! Ask her to pay for them, she has more than enough money” Robbe said. “Ask her to pay for her own gifts?” Louis asked in disbelief. “No, you ask the French people to pay for them…” Robbe countered. “I will find a solution myself” Louis said and he left the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit goes to the fanfic "do i know you?" by StraPepa that inspired me to the idea that Robbe would study in Sander’s art studio.


	17. The devil wears Prada

**Friday November 20th, 2020**

08:14

Louis and Marie were having breakfast together. “I don’t like that Sander boy” Marie said, “He has a bad influence on Robbe”. “I’ve not noticed that” Louis replied. “Don’t you remember when they stayed at our place? He couldn’t keep his hands of Robbe” Marie said. “That’s young people in love…” Louis said. “That’s ordinary…” Marie said, “And I’ve talked with Britt, his ex and she told me that he cheated on her with Robbe… He’s probably now also cheating on Robbe with whatever girl or boy he happens to run into…” “It seems to me that he genuinely loves Robbe” Louis said. “He’s a psycho… You don’t know what happens in such a person’s head. Robbe was an obsession of his but obsessions don’t last forever…” Marie stated. “What Robbe needs is an appropriate wife. Like the daughter of the Vannier’s. I’ve talked with Mrs Vannier yesterday and she’s willing to give €1 billion for her daughter to marry Robbe”, Marie was smiling. “Robbe is gay” Louis said, still in disbelief that his fiancée was in such denial about the fact that Robbe was gay. “Didn’t you hear? €1 billion” Marie asked surprised, “Invite Robbe to stay over next weekend. I will ask Josephine Vannier to come over as well to introduce them…” Before Louis had time to protest Marie took the word again: “08:28 already…I need to head off to the office. See you this evening. I will be a bit later because I need to go shopping. Look at me, I am wearing a cerulean belt on this royal blue dress because I didn’t have a royal blue belt…”

09:00

Marie walked into her office. She was a punctual lady and unless that traffic caused problems she generally was not more than a few minutes earlier or later than 09:00. As she walked into her office this morning she noticed a big problem. She headed out again to the open office, in front of her closed off office, where here secretaries were working. “Why is my coffee not on my desk?” she shouted. “Miranda is sick today, madam” one of the secretaries responded. “So why did you not bring my coffee? You know I arrive at 09:00 each day?” Marie asked. “I didn’t know how you want it, madam” the secretary responded. “What’s that?” Marie asked pointing to the phone on her desk. “A phone, madam” the secretary said. “Well, then use it to call Miranda to ask how I have my coffee” Marie stated. The secretary tried to pick up the phone but Marie said: “Now it’s too late… I’m here already… I have a lungo made of Columbia beans with a tiny sip of non-fat milk and two sugar cubes. If, I am not here yet at 09:05 then you replace my coffee with a new cup so it’s hot when I arrive. Got it?” “Yes, madam” the secretary said while heading out to fetch the coffee. “And please get it to me today” Marie yelled. 

“And where’s my mail?” Marie asked. “Here, madam” another secretary said while handing over a pile of letters. “What’s this?” Marie asked while pulling a promo flyer from between her letters. “Do I want promo flyers in between my letters?” she asked. “No, madam. Sorry, normally Miranda sorts your mail” the secretary said. “It seems Miranda is the only one who knows what to do in this office?” Marie stated irritated. “I want that report from yesterdays board meeting on my desk at 10:15, a second coffee at 11:30, and my car at 11:50 to go for lunch. That’s all” Marie commanded. 

09:41

A knock on her office door brought Marie out of her concentration. “In” she shouted. The door opened and Jens walked in. Marie looked at him and she stated: “Ah yes, I remember you, the servant from the palace”. “No, madam. I am Jens, Robbe’s best friend”. “Really?” Marie asked surprised, “Who are your parents?” “You wouldn’t know them” Jens said. “I am sure I would know the parents of the best friend of the King of France. I know everyone who matters” Marie stated confidently. Jens was getting really annoyed and wanted to speak his mind but he bit his tongue. He was here for Robbe’s sake. “I would like to talk to you about…” Jens started but he was interrupted by Marie. “Make it short. I am busy. You have 2 minutes” she said. 

“I know that the relationship between you and Robbe is a bit strained…” Jens said. “I’ve heard that Robbe used to have a girlfriend called Noor?” Marie asked, changing the subject of the conversation. “Yes, but I was…” Jens started to reply. But he got interrupted by Marie who asked “Tell me a bit about her?”. “I don’t see how that’s relevant…” Jens said surprised. “Oh but it is, I want to know my future stepson better and that includes the events in his past” Marie explained. “They had a brief relationship before Robbe came out… I think that he really tried with her to force himself to develop real attraction but he finally had to admit that he was gay…” Jens explained. “So he used her?” Marie asked. “No! Robbe did genuinely care about Noor. He was so much struggling inside with his own feelings… He never had the intension to use her. Noor knows that too hence they are still friends…” Jens said. “I must continue with work now” Marie said while pointing at the door. “But…” Jens tried to protest, “I was here to talk to you about Robbe”. “There’s no need to. I know that we may have started a bit on the wrong heading but I am trying to fix that now. His father will invite him to come over next weekend. I will apologize for some of the inconsiderate things I have said in the past. Sometimes when one is emotional one says things that one shouldn’t say… Things that one does not mean… Things one regret as soon as they are spoken… I really have the best intentions towards Robbe. You can rest assured about that” Marie said with a smile. “Ok, have a nice day then” Jens said. “You too” Marie replied. Jens headed out. 

Marie picked up the phone and dialled a number. “Hello Marc, I need you to probe Noor Bauwens. The former girlfriend of the King” Marie said. “Ok, that will be €25,000” Marc replied. “That’s more than you usually ask?” Marie replied. “Who else gets you the information that I get you?” Marc dryly replied. Marie bit her tongue. She wanted to yell at Marc and call him a thief but she knew she needed him. She was still angry that Marc had refused to investigate Sander despite Marie offering him €1 million for such an investigation. But Marc had been too afraid that counter-intelligence would get alerted to the illegal methods he uses to gather information about people. “Ok, I’ll transfer the money today” Marie replied. “Then I’ll start my investigation. BTW, I have information that will interest you. Britt wrote today to a friend that she still has feelings for Sander” Marc said. “Hmmm, yes, that is interesting. Send me their whole conversation” Marie demanded. “Sure” Marc replied and he hang up the phone. 

19:11

Marie arrived back home with 14 bags of new clothing. Belts, handbags, shoes, dresses, hats,… “Hello darling” Louis said, “You had a fun day shopping, I see”. “Oh don’t start… I had a horrible day… My employees are really just totally incompetent…” Marie said while falling down in the sofa. She left out a sigh of exhaustion. “Get me a sherry” she instructed her servant. “Have you already asked Robbe to come over next weekend?” Marie asked. “No, I’ve not yet had time. I had a busy day today…” Louis replied. “Really?” Marie said in a denigrating way. “Yes, really” Louis replied irritated, “I visited a children’s hospital today. The board has asked me to become a patron of the charity that supports entertainment for the sick children.” “Ok, but go to the King tomorrow” Marie demanded. “Ok, my dear” Louis replied. 

19:32

“Why is dinner not served yet? It’s already 2 minutes overdue” Marie asked her servant. “Sorry, madam. I will go and check in the kitchen” the servant replied. Moments later dinner was served. 

“I must go shopping tomorrow” Marie said. “You went today?” Louis replied surprised. “For a few small items… But I need to seriously replace my wardrobe. So, I will be gone all day” Marie explained, “Oh and on Sunday, Mr and Mrs Leclercq are coming over for dinner”. “Oh no, they are boring” Louis said. “I know, but I am good underway of closing a very lucrative deal with Mr Leclercq’s company for the sale of 500 apartments. So, it’s important that we make him feel welcome. Once the deal is done you will never have to listen to their boring stories ever again. I promise” Marie explained with a smile. “Jens came to visit me today” Marie said. “Oh, that’s long ago that I saw him. How is he doing?” Louis asked. “Good, I guess… He wants to improve the relation between me and Robbe. You see, he too thinks that Robbe should come over next weekend” Marie explained. “He probably doesn’t know that you wish to couple Robbe to Josephine Vannier?” Louis said. “It’s for Robbe’s own good. When they marry she will put the €1 billion in a common account. Robbe will be fabulously rich” Marie said. “But will he be happy?” Louis questioned. “A Billion buys a lot of happiness” Marie said confidently. “I don’t get why you’re so involved with Robbe’s relationships. What do you gain from it?” Louis questioned. “Nothing, I just want the best for my future stepson. That’s all” Marie replied. She desperately tried to hide her unease at Louis’ last question. She put up a poker face and excused herself from the table…


	18. Solving the pension crisis

**Wednesday November 25th, 2020**

08:39

Sander was reading the newspaper and was really disappointed with what he read. There was a very negative article about his Youth Art Project. It wrongly stated that the goal of the project was to rehabilitate youth delinquents. It said that criminals deserved tough punishments rather than be rewarded with free art classes. This was not the goal. The project had multiple goals and one of them was to prevent young people from becoming mischievous. The target audience was never those who already did bad things. Also preventing youths from going into petty crime was just one of the goals. The project also wanted to help young people who struggled in other ways. Like young people who struggled with their sexuality, or who had bad relationships with their parents, or who were bullied at school, or those who suffered from mental illnesses, etc… To offer these youths a safe space where they would be able to talk to others about their feelings, problems, worries,… None of this was mentioned in the article. It portrayed the project as a waste of tax money to pamper criminals. 

10:00

For years the pension problem had caused considerable political tensions in France. The French pension system is one of the most generous ones in the world but that obviously comes with a heavy price tag… The current minimum age of retirement is 62 and the previous administration had proposed to gradually increase the pension age to 67 by 2023 but this proposal had been eliminated after fierce protests. Between 2002 and 2020 during all but one year, social security in France had run at a deficit. And due to the corona crisis this year’s deficit was projected to be the biggest one so far, at least €28 billion. About 35% of the budget is healthcare and a quarter goes to the pensions. Both healthcare and pensions were individually running deficits. In today’s meeting solutions would be sought to solve the pension deficit… 

14:39

After more than four hours of non-stop negotiations, they were no closer to a solution. Papers were scattered across the table, a whiteboard stood on the side covered in schematics of possible solutions,… Suddenly, the King said: “What if… What if, we keep the pension age at 62 but eliminate the contributions that employers and employees have to pay to social security after the age of 62. So that once an employee reaches 62 his or hers gross wage becomes his or hers nett wage. That would nearly double people’s income and would be a big motivator to voluntarily keep working for a bit longer. To motivate companies to keep employees over 62 employed we should maybe allow a slight reduction, say 10%, in the gross wage of employees over 62. So for employers, keeping an employee after 62 will become slightly cheaper but not too much so that there’s no incentive to e.g. go and replace young workers by older ones. So, this would mean that an employee over 62 would get 90% of his or hers gross wage (in contrast to the current half). The government loses the tax income but as this proposal keeps people employed it also means that the government saves money on pension spending. So, the way I see it, it’s a triple win for everyone involved…”. “That’s brilliant!” Sven shouted. The minister of social security and health agreed: “That’s indeed a brilliant solution that is to the benefit of all parties involved. I can have the legislation drafted immediately, if you like?”. “No, I and the King will write the first draft today and send it to you for review. It’s a good exercise for his majesty to write a bill proposal” Sven said. “Sure” the minister replied. 

16:39

Robbe and Sven were busy drafting the new pension proposal to be submitted to parliament. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. “In” Sven said. The door opened and louis walked in. “Hi dad” Robbe said. “Your majesty, your highness” Louis replied, “I know that you don’t like Marie but we are engaged and I want you to reconcile yourself with her. Therefore, I wish that you come and stay the weekend with us.” “I don’t want to spend a weekend with Marie. Once was enough…” Robbe stated. “Robbe! I am your dad and I demand that you stay over with us this weekend” Louis said irritated. “You cannot demand anything of your King” Sven corrected Louis. “You, Robbe’s regent, you can order Robbe to stay over with me and Marie” Louis begged. “I can but I won’t. I don’t like her either so I agree with Robbe that he should stay away from her. Anyway, I think Robbe and Sander already have plans for the weekend…” Sven replied. “Marie will be furious if she hears this… At least grant her the title of duchesse de Bourbon to appease her?” Louis said. “I know that Marie sells her love but I don’t participate in that” Robbe replied back. Louis furiously walked out, slamming the door behind him. 

18:37

The King, Sander, and the regent are having dinner together. “What is it?” Sven asked. He could clearly see that something was bothering Sander. “Did you see the newspaper today?” Sander asked?” “Ah yes, the YAP article. You should not feel bad about it. This is nothing personal” Sven said. “The sad reality is that in politics there are always a lot of people who stand ready to stab you in the back. It’s a game of power. The journalist probably wrote this to help someone who would gain politically if we get placed in a bad light. It’s pathetic. People should focus on being productive, on doing what is in the best interest of the country and its citizens rather than in playing power games…” Sven said.   
None of the boys could imagine the level of back stabbing that was going to unfold soon… 

22:52

Sander and Robbe entered their bedroom. Robbe wrapped his arms around Sander, pulling him in for a kiss. “I love you” Robbe said while he looked in his boyfriend’s beautiful green eyes. “I love you too” Sander said, “You’ve rescued my heart”. The boys kissed again and Sander slipped his hands underneath Robbe’s t-shirt. Sander’s soft and warm hands send a shiver to Robbe’s body. Soon the two boys were hugging each other naked… Robbe took Sander’s hand and he guided him to their bed. Robbe pushed Sander in bed and then crawled on top of him. It was dark in the room so it took Robbe a moment to find Sander’s sweet lips… Soon the mouths of the two boys met and they kissed passionately… For two minutes long the boys kept kissing continuously before the lack of oxygen forced them to break the kiss and breath. Robbe inhaled deep and the warm spicy perfume of Sander with base notes of sandalwood, musk, patchouli, and ginger combined with a top note of cedar filled his nose. It drove Robbe wild… Robbe went back in for another kiss… Suddenly Sander fipped them around so that he was now on top. He moved down, kissing Robbe’s neck… Then collarbone… Down to his nipples… Robbe moaned in pure pleasure… Sander kept going further down… Robbe giggled as Sander was reaching his ticklish spots… The giggling changed to moaning as Sander reached his goal… Robbe grabbed the bedsheets in his palms… Sander was putting his body on fire… It felt so good… Sander felt so good… 

00:14

Sander fell down on his back. He was breathing heavy… Still coming down from his high… Robbe was also exhausted. He closed his eyes and was drifting asleep… When Sander had caught his breath again, he turned to his side and placed his arm around Robbe who was already asleep. Sander moved closer to Robbe’s body, wrapping his arm tightly around his boyfriend. His last thought was just how lucky he was to have Robbe in his life before he drifted to sleep… 

**Friday December 4th, 2020**

13:48

Sven and Robbe were in the office finalizing the pension bill when a servant entered and alerted the two that Marie and Louis had arrived. “What?” Robbe said, “What are they doing here?” Sven and Robbe walked out to the entrance hall where they saw Marie and Louis while servants brought in their luggage. “What are you doing here?” Sven demanded to know. “If his majesty can’t come to us this weekend then we come to him” Marie stated. “So, you just come here without asking first?” Sven asked, still completely shocked by Marie’s boldness. “I am sure his majesty wants to see his dad” Marie replied. “Hello son” Louis said. Robbe didn’t reply, he turned around and walked away… 

17:49

Everyone was getting ready to go for dinner when suddenly an unknown girl walked in. She had blue eyes and wavy blond hair to the middle of her back. She wore bright red lipstick, diamond teardrop earrings, a three strand necklace made of natural black Tahitian pearls and a royal blue evening dress. “Who are you and what do you do here?” a surprised Sven asked. “That’s Josephine Vannier” Marie said, “I’ve invited her”. Sven was shocked. First Marie and Louis showed up uninvited and now another girl that he didn’t know showed up. “I am sure you will get good friends” she told Robbe. “Your majesty” Josephine said while making a curtsy. She then looked past Sander to Sven and said: “Your highness” while making a curtsy, “Thank you for having me over for dinner”. She then turned back to Robbe and she said “I heard that you’re working on a new pension plan”. Robbe noticed how Josephine acted as if Sander didn’t exist. So he said: “This is my boyfriend, Sander”. “Hello” Josephine simply said before she turned back to Robbe: “You think that the National Assembly will approve it?” Robbe was now so annoyed that he grasped Sander’s hand and said “come” leaving the dinner room. 

“You shouldn’t forgo dinner for me, baby” Sander said. “I am not” Robbe said, “we’ll eat in our bedroom”. In the bedroom Robbe picked up the phone and called the kitchen to send dinner for him and Sander to his room. He then put on the TV and opened Netflix. “What do you want to see?” he asked Sander. “Let’s continue to watch Space Force, it was quite funny” he said. 

**Saturday December 5th, 2020**

08:24

Robbe walked into the dining room for breakfast. Sander was still upstairs. Marie was already in the dining room. “Ah there you are” She said, “You left your girlfriend alone the whole evening”. “What?” Robbe said in complete shock, “My what?” Marie clearly had said something she didn’t intend to say… Robbe’s face was getting red from anger. Before he could say anything Sven spoke “Please leave”. “I am sorry but Josephine’s parents are billionaires and she’s quite attractive, right?” Marie spoke. “Get out!” Sven said firmly. At that moment Louis walked in. Robbe looked at his dad and asked: “You knew?” “What?” his dad asked. “That Marie wants to couple me to Josephine?” Robbe asked. It was clear from his face that he knew but was very ashamed of it. “You did!” Robbe yelled. He walked out of the room in tears. He heard Sven say in firm voice: “Both of you and Josephine have to leave immediately”. 

09:40

Sven entered Robbe’s bedroom where he was sitting on his bed in Sander’s arms. “Hey Robbe” Sven said, “Don’t let her make you sad”. “Remember, I’ve cleared your agenda this weekend. You should do something nice with Sander” Sven said. “Do you want to go and play tennis, baby?” Sander asked. “Yes, that would be nice” Robbe said and a smile came to his face as he looked at Sander. Robbe thought back at the good times he and Sander had had in the tennis club in Antwerp… Sander stood up and said “come”. Robbe immediately jumped out of bed. He grabbed his tennis bag and off he was. 

**Monday December 7th, 2020**

07:11

Robbe woke up before his alarm. Sander was still sleeping peacefully with his arm over Robbe holding his boyfriend firm against his body. Robbe was careful not to wake Sander up but he had to know. He had woken up because the thought had kept spooking through his head the whole night. Robbe needed to know the outcome of yesterday’s National Assembly elections. He grabbed his phone from the night table and immediately opened the official results. He quickly added the results of the different parties together. Those that supported him, those that opposed him, and the parties that will support certain aspects of Robbe’s government and oppose others. The good news was that the parties that unequivocally opposed him only scored a combined 12%. Less ideal was that the parties that supported him scored a combined 44%. Too little for a majority and so for each vote support from some of the swing parties would be needed. He put his phone down and fell back asleep… 

14:16 

Sven, Robbe, and Josephine De la Croix, the Minister of the Treasury were trying to solve the financial troubles that France was in. On the one hand the state needed more money but increasing taxes would strain people and companies who were already struggling. 

“Sometimes the way to increase tax income is by decreasing tax rates” Josephine said. “How?” Robbe asked surprised. “High tax rates decrease economic productivity and consequently decrease tax income” Josephine explained. “Look here” she said while she drew a graph on a piece of paper. “This is the so called Laffer curve. It shows the tax income dependent on the tax rate. The maximum tax income is reached at around 30% for corporate tax while our tax rate is 35%” Josephine explained. “Ok, so we decrease corporate tax by 5%” Sven said, “What about the other taxes?” “Many countries have slashed VAT rates on several products and services in an effort to boost consumption after the COVID pandemic. For example, Belgium has decreased the VAT rate on hospitality, restaurants, and cafes from 12 to 6%. Austria cut VAT on hospitality and culture from 10 to 5% and Germany has cut VAT rates across the board…” Josephine explained. “I propose that we cut the standard VAT rate from 20% to 10% and the reduced tariff of 10% to 6% for at least half a year. Hopefully, in spring a vaccine will be available and life will be able to return to normal…” she explained. 

“In addition to increasing income we will also have to cut expenses” Sven said, “The overhead cost of the government is too big. We should find the waste streams where excess bureaucracy is draining our finances. We should simplify procedures and digitalize the government. In addition to saving money we can hopefully also speed up procedures. Lots of French complain about the nightmarish French bureaucracy, the time it takes, the complexity, and the volume of paperwork. Bureaucratic simplification and digitalization will save money and reduce the bureaucratic burden on our citizens. Therefore, I propose that we set up a commission to investigate these waste streams, to simplify procedures, and to investigate how much we can slim the personnel list down” Sven stated. “Firing people?” Robbe asked. “No, we could just hire less new civil servants than the number who retire resulting in a gradual slimming down of the personnel list” Sven explained. Josephine said: “I can put together an investigative committee, if you like”. “That’s fine” Sven replied. “Oké” Robbe said in his typical manner.


	19. The new National Assembly

**Tuesday December 8th, 2020**

14:36

Last Sunday elections had happened and today the new National Assembly was officially installed and they immediately started work. Robbe and Sven were watching the debates on TV from Sven’s office. The first point on the agenda was to ratify the appointment of Sven as regent of France. Sven knew that a certain fraction of the parliament (totalling 12%) was actively opposed to having Robbe as King. In addition some of the swing parties had reservations about Robbe as King because they thought that he was too young and inexperienced, or because they disagreed with the direction that Robbe’s government had set. That fraction was going to cause some debate today but Sven was confident. The majority of the National Assembly would be on their side… 

First things first, the National Assembly needed to elect a President. Eventually Madam Diane LeBeau from one of the swing parties got elected to this position. “You know her?” Robbe asked Sven. “Not well but I know her reputation…” Sven replied. “What do you mean?” Robbe asked. “She’s not a bad choice. I know her as someone who is reasonable and will look at all the arguments in favour and against a certain position… Someone who is willing to change her position if you can convince her based on the evidence…” Sven said. “That’s good” Robbe said with a smile. “Yes, but convincing her is not easy… She’s brilliant, it’s said her IQ is over 160 and she’s a workaholic who knows the topics she talks about. For example, you can be sure that she knows each detail of our new pension proposal. She also will know each number from the pension budget on top of her head and that’s a few thousand numbers…” Sven explained. 

After the election of the President the debates started. First up was Mr. Parmentier, the leader of one of the opposition parties. “France is currently ruled by a 17 year old boy, who has no previous experience in matters of state, together with a regent appointed by the previous King without approval of the National Assembly. Yes, because the National Assembly had disbanded itself before the throne passed to Robbe, his defenders will state. But that exposes yet another dirty problem of our current monarchy. His dad was King for ONE day! One day! And then he abandoned his responsibilities. We should ask ourselves if such behaviour runs in the family? Will our current King abandon his responsibilities as well? Or will he remain King and ignore his responsibilities? Preferring to party instead of ruling? These are all important questions that we should ask ourselves. How well do we know this King? Can we trust him? Can we trust him to be the Head of State of France? France is currently in the midst of the largest financial depression of the last century… Some of you may think that we’re lucky that the current King studied math-economics in high school. But how much does he really know? I have his score card here for last year. He had an 8 in 20 for economics!”  


“That was the first exam after I broke up with Sander” Robbe defended himself against the television. “And how does he have a copy of my score card? Is that not private information” Robbe asked. 

In the mean time Mr. Parmentier had continued in his attack on Robbe: “I here have a complete printout of the so called ‘Broerrrs chat’ They really make themselves sound like a gang, don’t they? . It was send to me by an anonymous source who expressed concern about the things mentioned in it. For example, on February 4th, 2019 his majesty wrote: ‘Does anyone have weed left. Mine’s up’.”

While Mr. Parmentier kept reading a list of every mention of weed in the Broerrrs chat Robbe said horrified: “How did they get a copy of my private communication?” “Someone must have leaked it… Or someone left a devise unsupervised…” 

Robbe made a new chat channel and added Jens, Moyo and Aaron. 

Robbe: [Who has leaked a copy of our chats? Some guy in Parliament is currently reading it] 

Jens: [WTF! Not me!]

Moyo: [Me neither!]

Aaron: [I swear I have not shared it with anyone. Not even Amber]

Robbe: [Did anyone leave a devise unsupervised?]

Jens: [No, I always am careful]

Moyo: [Not really but my phone was stolen last week…]

Sven took Robbe’s phone and wrote: [Sven: Your stolen phone is probably the leak. Immediately reset all your passwords] 

Mr. Parmentier had moved beyond the weed and was now talking about the mural: “In the Broerrrs chat we also learn that the famous mural of the King’s face in Antwerp was made by his current boyfriend. He had not obtained permission to paint that on that wall, so that’s vandalism! And given the objective quality of the piece we can say for sure that it wasn’t the first time that he must have illegally sprayed, right?” “And then there’s the fact that he started a relation with the King while he was still together with his girlfriend! A shameful action that besmudged the image of our great nation!” Mr. Parmentier vented. “I call upon all of you, to do your patriotic duty and to vote against the regency of the Prince of Condé! It is my belief that Prince Louis-Philippe is the only person suitable to become King of France” Mr. Parmentier yelled. 

The room erupted in noise, on the one hand were those who agreed with Mr. Parmentier who applauded and on the other side those that supported Robbe who booed his speech. “Order! Order!” the president of the National Assembly shouted. When the room had calmed down she continued: “Thank you Mr. Parmentier. We next recognize Mr. Davies as speaker”.

“I agree with my esteemed colleague’s doubts about the competence of our current King. His ex-girlfriend, Noor Bauwens, has been arrested twice for vandalism. Once, when she broke into the depot of the train company and put graffiti on the trains. A few months earlier garbage trucks in Antwerp had similar graffiti on them… Very likely also her work… I am a believer in the concept ‘qui cum canibus concumbunt cum pulicibus surgent’ or in English ‘If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas’. And his current boyfriend is also a bit of a rebel…” Mr. Davies said.

“However, the suggestion of my esteemed colleague Mr. Parmentier to instead pass the throne to Prince Louis-Philippe is utterly ridiculous. He’s only second in line for the throne, after Sven, Prince de Condé. Rather, we should vote to invalidate the decision of Louis to abdicate and pass the throne to his son, thereby returning the throne to the true King Louis! His majesty took an impulsive decision to abdicate because of the weight of the responsibility that was unexpectedly placed on him. We might blame him for that but I disagree… I think it’s a positive thing to feel overwhelmed by the responsibility because that shows that you care! That you want only what is best for the country!” Mr Davies said. 

“Thank you Mr. Davies. We next recognize princess Louise, Countess of Soissons as speaker” Mrs. LeBeau said. 

“Thank you Mrs. President! Esteemed members of the National Assembly! Colleagues! Change is always scary. We often prefer to what we know because it makes us feel safe and secure. But if we had always stuck to what we knew than we would still live in caves today. I agree that his majesty is young and inexperienced but I got elected as a member of this esteemed National Assembly at just the age of 20. I too was inexperienced, yet I’ve remained here, gotten re-elected for over 25 years now. I still remember the first day that I walked in these halls. I was overwhelmed by the responsibility that had fallen on my shoulders. I was lucky that Madam Thibault was willing to act as my mentor. In a few months’ time she had me up to speed with the workings of the French state and in particular with this National Assembly. Just like me, His majesty deserves a chance. There are nine months left to prepare him for his difficult job. That’s not a long time but I am the example that it can be achieved. Furthermore, I’ve had the privilege of knowing his Majesty since he was born and I can say that he’s very bright. Consequently, I have full confidence in his Majesty and kindly ask you all to join me in my support for our king.” princess Louise stated. 

“Furthermore, I have full confidence in the abilities of the Prince of Condé to rule this country as Regent to the King. He’s honest, bright, and hard-working, a rare trio! As to Mr. Davies’ suggestion to return the throne to Louis… I would also like to remind the esteemed members of this Assembly that the King-emeritus not only abdicated the throne but indicated that he was completely uninterested in fulfilling the role of King of France. Furthermore, it is legally impossible for the throne to return to someone who abdicated it. Abdication is a final and irreversible decision. I am sure that the honourable members of Constitutional Court will confirm this conclusion” princess Louise explained. 

Princess Louise continued: “I also disapprove of drug use, like our esteemed colleague Mr. Parmentier. However, how many world leaders, prime ministers, and other politicians have admitted to having smoked joints in their youth? Too many to count! And I have heard that his majesty has stopped smoking since December 2019.”

“Thank you princess Louise. Anyone else who wishes to speak before we put the motion to vote?” Mrs. LeBeau asked. Mr. Davies indicated he wanted the word. “You get the word for one minute” Mrs. LeBeau said. 

“Thank you Mrs. President. Her Royal Highness suggested that the Constitutional Court would confirm that the throne cannot go back to Louis. I am not so sure about that and I would like to ask to postpone the vote and send this question to the Constitutional Court for review. Thank you!” Mr. Davies said.

“Thank you Mr. Davies but I have to decline your request. If this assembly votes against the motion to appoint the Prince de Condé as Regent then we can consult the Constitutional Court. If no other member of this Assembly wants to speak, we can go over to the vote. The motion before this Assembly is: Sven, Prince de Condé is appointed Regent of France.” Mrs. LeBeau stated. 

Anxious moments passed as the members of the Assembly voted. All 577 representatives were present as this was the first session of the Assembly after the elections. Finally, the results were in… “With 341 votes in favour versus 236 against, the motion appointing the Prince de Condé as Regent of France is officially adopted by this Assembly!” the president of the National Assembly stated. While some started to cheer, a group of approximately 70 politicians walked out of the room in protest. Most of those who walked out belonged to a fraction that had, unofficially, become known as the “Marists” because they believed that Louis should take the throne again, which would de facto mean that Marie would rule the country. Mr. Parmentier and a small fraction of representatives believed that Prince Louis-Philippe should become King, they were known as the “Philipists”. The most vocal supporters of King Robbe had similarly been given an informal nickname the “Sobbists”. 

19:07

The news reporter was interviewing Mr. Parmentier, one of the most vocal Philipists. “I guess you’re disappointed by the outcome of the vote?” the journalist asked. “Of course, France is in mourning! We’re stuck with an underaged boy and his artist boyfriend on the throne. Ridiculous… In a time of international tensions and strong leadership from other nations we must have a King and Queen who can stand up for us! A King and Queen who will not be pushed over by the American president, or the Russian president or the Chinese president… Louis-Philippe will provide the leadership that our country needs!” Mr. Parmentier said. “I am confident in my fellow countrymen, that they will soon see the travesty of the current administration and that they will call for true chance!” Mr. Parmentier stated. 

“Thank you for the interview” the reporter said, “And I also have Mr. Davies here with me. You too are greatly disappointed by the outcome of the vote?”. “Of course, this is a dark day for our country. An incompetent 17 year old boy is King of France and his Regent is acting as a tyrant” Mr. Davies stated. “In what way is the Regent a tyrant?” the journalist asked. “Well, if you knew how the Regent treated the future stepmom of the King you would be horrified…” Mr. Davies said. “Well there are others who say that Marie is not an angel either?” the journalist asked. “That’s a nice example of the smear campaign that the Regent is running against Marie! Because he hates strong independent women!” Mr. Davies said, “Marie is the queen that France deserves! She will make us proud to be French again!”

“I also have someone from the opposite side, the reporter said: “Mrs. Duval you are very pleased with the outcome?” “Of course, this is a historic day, not just for France but for the world. We have the first openly gay Head of State in the world. And despite his young age he has submitted an impressive range of proposals aimed at getting France out of its current financial troubles… Of course, his majesty still has a lot to learn but he’s counselled by some of the brightest minds of our country. I am absolutely confident that his majesty will be fully prepared to take full responsibility of our country in August” Mrs. Duval stated.


	20. A national crisis…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I’ve been busy the last few weeks so it took me a while to write the next chapter. Now, there will again be more regular updates.  
> Next chapter is chapter 21 and we all know the importance of that number in Sobbe’s life… So, I have something special planned for that chapter 😉

**Thursday December 10th, 2020**

01:46

Robbe and Sander were sleeping peacefully. Sander was spooning Robbe with his arm around his boyfriend. Suddenly agents woke them up. “Your majesty, highness. You must come now!” one of them said. Robbe and Sander were taken from bed, given a bathrobe to cover their naked bodies and then escorted to the Jupiter command post in the bunker underneath the palace. “What is happening” Robbe asked. “At least one airplane has been hijacked” one of the agents said. “You can go back to sleep if you want” Robbe said to Sander. “No, it’s fine. I’ll stay up for now… Maybe later…” Sander replied. He wanted to stay awake so he could give emotional support to his boyfriend if that would be needed. “I will have a bed prepared in the bunker” an agent said. While Sander and Robbe quickly changed from their bathrobe to real clothing the first members of the emergency team started to walk in. Sven, the ministers of the interior, defence, and justice, the Secretary General for National Defence, the National Coordinator of the National Centre for Counter Terrorism, the Chief of Staff of the Armies, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the brigadier general in charge of the GIGN (the special tactical team of the Gendarmerie), and the Army general in charge of the Gendarmerie all started to arrive at the command post. 

The meeting was started with a briefing by Mr. Dupont, the National Coordinator of the National Centre for Counter Terrorism: “At 01:27 the pilots of flight 1719 put the hijack code in their transponder. Moments later they send out a Mayday call to air traffic control. They described that the airplane was hijacked. The hijackers were unsuccessfully trying to enter the cockpit. Apparently they put in the wrong code to unlock the cockpit door. This suggests that they might have received inside info on what the code should be but that for some reason the code they entered was wrong. After failing to unlock the door they started to use physical violence to try to break into the cockpit but the special armed door has withstood their attempts so far. The 747 took off from Lisbon with destination Tokyo and is currently above the commune of Saint-Jean-le-Comtal, about 80 kilometres to the west of Toulouse. The 747-400 has 387 passengers and crew on board and contains over 200 tons of fuel. Currently the airplane is at cruising speed of 933 km/h heading east. The pilots have asked and gotten permission to land at Montpellier about 270 kilometres from their current location. They should be able to land there in about half an hour, if by that time the hijackers have not made it into the cockpit…”. 

The phone of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force rang and he answered. “Three Eurofighter Typhoons have just intercepted flight 1719” the Chief of Staff of the Air Force said. “You’re not suggesting that…” Robbe said. “No, that’s only the last possible option if they were heading to some major city or so… It’s standard procedure to intercept hijacked aircraft and our pilots can give vital intelligence, for example they can see if other people have entered the cockpit…” the Chief of Staff of the Air Force explained.  


“Do we have any idea who is behind this and what their motives are?” Sven asked. “No, regent. We don’t yet know but one very likely candidate is the ‘weapon of god’ terror group. We picked up chatter that suggested that they were planning something but we couldn’t figure out what and when” Mr. Dupont explained. 

“When the aircraft is on the ground, my man can storm it. Two platoons of the intervention force with support from the observation & search force and the operational support force are already by helicopter under way to the Montpellier” the brigadier general of the GIGN said. “Let us first try to resolve the situation without the need for an assault on the aircraft that could result in the loss of lives of innocent passengers… But it is good that we have this backup option ready if needed…” Sven stated. 

02:35

A telephone rang and was answered by the minister of the interior. “The airplane has safely landed in Montpellier. The pilots have succeeded to disable the aircraft so that it cannot take off even if the hijackers would get into the cockpit. After disabling the aircraft, the pilots successfully escaped through the side window of the cockpit” the minister of the interior said. "Good, with the aircraft disabled and the pilots gone it is highly unlikely that the hijackers could take off with the plane even if they make it into the cockpit" Sven said relieved.

“We will have to send out a press release informing the public about what is going on…” Sven said, “Can you call the airfield and instruct them to ensure that nobody is able to have a direct line of sight on the hijacked airplane? We don’t want the hijackers to be able to see what the police is doing on television. While they prepare barriers to keep journalists and curious people away we will start to draft up a press release”. The minister of the interior immediately called the airfield with the instructions.  


“Also call the police and tell them not to contact the hijackers but wait for specialized hostage negotiators to arrive” Sven directed the minister of the interior. “Do we have an idea when those negotiators will get there?” Sven asked. “They left Marseilles around 2 am and are expected to arrive around 3:30 am” the minister of the interior replied. 

04:18

Journalists had started to arrive both at the Élysée and at the airport in Montpellier. A senior press secretary was currently answering questions by the media in the Portrait Room upstairs. Meanwhile other servants were preparing the largest room in the Élysée, the Hall of Festivities, to host the every expanding number of journalists that started to arrive. 

The phone rang and was answered by the brigadier general of the GIGN. “My forces have arrived” he said, “They are hurrying to take advantage of the darkness to quickly install microphones on the outside of the aircraft so that we can listen to what the hijackers are saying. When they are ready and have cleared the area than we will try to contact the hijackers and start hostage negotiations. What is the official position concerning what we can give in to?” “France does not negotiate with terrorists. We will not give in on their demands” the minister of the interior said, “But we can offer reductions in punishments if they surrender without bloodshed”. “I agree, giving in to demands could give hope to would-be terrorists that their actions will be successful and hence could lead to more hostage situations” Sven said, “But it’s essential that we give the negotiators all opportunities to end this hostage situation without the need to storm the aircraft… In my opinion, if the hijackers would start executing people then we go for an immediate armed intervention. What’s his majesties opinion?”. Robbe stood up and walked out… Sander immediately went after him. 

In the bedroom adjacent to the command post Robbe fell down with his back against the wall. Tears were running down his cheeks. Sander sat down next to Robbe. “If… If we screw up now people will die” Robbe said. “If anyone dies it’s not your fault. You didn’t hijack the aircraft…” Sander said. “I know… But…” Robbe said. “We all can only do what we think is right based on the knowledge we have. In retrospect some of our decisions may turn out to be bad ones but, as we didn’t know that at the time when we made them, we cannot be blamed for the outcome… So, just do what your heart tells you is the right thing to do” Sander said. “Thank you sweetie” Robbe said while giving Sander a kiss on his cheek. Robbe stood up and went back to the command post. “I agree, but we should do everything we can to end it without bloodshed” Robbe answered Sven’s earlier question.

06:39

The hostage negotiators had been talking with the hijackers for over an hour now. So far no progress was made. They had demanded the release of 16 convicted terrorists from prison but such demands were unacceptable. Releasing convicted terrorists would endanger society… 

“I wonder what their original plan was…” Sven said. “What do you mean?” Robbe asked. “I don’t think that the original plan was to ask for the release of convicted terrorists from prison… If that had been their plan they could have just taken over a supermarket or some other place… I think they wanted to use the aircraft as a weapon…” Sven explained. “I agree” Mr. Dupont said, “If this is indeed the work of the ‘weapon of god’ terror group than it seems likely that their plan is to kill all the hostages…”. “What are they then waiting for?” the minister of the interior asked. “Maybe they are waiting for the press to arrive so that they can broadcast their action to the world stage… Or they might try to blame us for the outcome by trying to trigger an assault on the aircraft in which a lot of the hostages die...” Mr. Dupont explained. “Do we even already know the motivations of this terror group?” Sven asked. “They pretend to be an offshoot of IS… But we have some evidence to suggest that that isn’t true… In fact, we believe that they have non-religious motives, at least on the top level of the organization, but we don’t yet know what they are. They don’t act like most terrorist groups… They don’t have the big recruitment and PR activities that IS had… They do spread a lot of hate messages online against our King… Despite the extremely small size of the organization it seems to be well funded…” Mr. Dupont said.

16:45

The lack of sleep started to take its toll on the members of the crisis team… A few hours ago Sander had fallen asleep in the bedroom of the bunker. The situation was safe to go upstairs but he preferred to stay close to his boyfriend. Occasionally Robbe would take a break to go and watch Sander. Seeing Sander sleep peacefully had a calming effect on the King who currently was under immense pressure. 

The telephone rang. It was answered on speaker phone. “The terrorists demand that the 16 convicted terrorists are released from prison before 00:00 this night. In addition they want a free pass for themselves. They threaten to kill one passenger every half hour until their demand is met…” the person on the other side said. 

“According to our best intelligence there are likely five hijackers. One of our suspects is a police officer and hence he has certain training. We also believe that he’s the leader. Two hijackers mostly stay at the rear side while the other three, including the leader, stay in the front. My man can storm the plane in a similar manner to Air France flight 8969 in 1994. This time we have the benefit that the hijackers are, as far as we know, not yet in the cockpit so they cannot see what happens in front of the aircraft. Hence, the terrorists have two blind spots. Straight ahead and to the back. We come from both sides using airstairs. The first and second team enter through the front doors while team three and four enter through the back doors.” the brigadier general of the GIGN explained. 

Robbe was feeling ill. 382 innocent people’s lives were on the line… If they made the wrong decision who knows how many would die… “There must be a way to end this in a non-violent fashion” Robbe said. “How?” the brigadier general of the GIGN asked. “I don’t know” Robbe said irritated, “Starting a gun fight with terrorists in an area that offers so few places to hide or escape as an airplane will lead to many fatalities among the hostages…”. “If we just let them execute hostages and do nothing than it will only end when the last hostage dies” the brigadier general of the GIGN replied. 

“The people on board and the hijackers will be hungry by now… Why don’t we offer them food…” Sander said. He was interrupted by the brigadier general of the GIGN: “How is that going to help us?”. The brigadier general was clearly irritated… He probably thought that Sander should just sit there and be quiet and let people like himself handle the situation. “You could spike it with some benzodiazepine such as Rohypnol maybe the hijackers will fall asleep and we can take the aircraft without risk for the hostages and the GIGN operatives…” Sander suggested. “That’s a brilliant solution” Sven said, “We should consult an anaesthesiologist… We need to know that the drug will be tasteless and we also need to make sure that the dose is safe that we don’t accidentally have a hostage dying from an overdose… Given that this situation has been going on for over 15 hours and that the hijackers probably haven’t slept since and probably also not several hours before the start of the hijacking we can assume that they are already getting very tired. A small dose should probably push them over the edge and make them fall asleep. We could further trick them by delivering caffeine-free coffee… In fact, the strong taste of the coffee will be ideal to mask the drug taste and probably all hijackers will want to drink a lot of coffee to stay awake…”. “Robbe?” Sven said. “I approve of Sander’s plan” Robbe said. “Oké! Make it happen” Sven instructed the brigadier general of the GIGN who reluctantly did as we was told. He was now probably irritated by the fact that he hadn’t come up with this brilliant solution. 

18:53

Dinner and coffee was delivered to the aircraft. Unbeknown to the hijackers the coffee contained benzodiazepines… For extra safety, in case one of the hijackers would not drink any coffee, they also spiked the food with a smaller dose of benzodiazepines.  
An emergency hospital had been set up in an aircraft hangar not far from where the hijacked plane was standing and over one hundred ambulances stood ready. All physicians, nurses, and paramedics had been informed about the plan to drug the hijackers and had taken the necessary precautions to deal with any patients who might have consumed an overdose of the benzodiazepine. 

19:32

It had become dark in the meantime. This was what everyone was waiting for as this would further help the GIGN to approach the aircraft without being spotted by the hijackers. The airport authorities had in the meantime also gradually started to change the artificial lighting on the runway where the hijacked plane was parked. Turning all the lights off would alert the hijackers that something was about to happen… Therefore, instead a portion of lights on the front and back of where the plane was located were dimmed while extra lights were switched on, on the sides of the plane. This game of light would further help to conceal the approach of the GIGN operatives. 

Based on the recordings from the microphones, the police had been able to see that the amount of noise on board of the airplane had decreased in the last 15 minutes… This suggested that the benzodiazepines may be working… To further confirm this before the aircraft was stormed a team of GIGN operatives sneaked towards the aircraft and held up tiny camera’s on sticks in front of the windows. A lot of the people on board appeared to be sleeping… Things were looking good… 

19:48 

The brigadier general of the GIGN asked the critical question: “Everything is set… This seems to be the optimal moment to execute an assault. Do we have the go-ahead?” Sven turned to Robbe and asked: “Are you 100% on board with this decision?” “Yes” Robbe said, “This seems like the best strategy to prevent loss of life”. “I am in favour” the minister of the interior stated. “Yes, we should do this now” the minister of justice said. “Ok, you have permission to initiate operation Saviour” Sven said to the brigadier general of the GIGN. 

Moments later the crisis team watched on the big screen as the airstairs carrying the GIGN operatives were approaching the aircraft… They docked and the doors were carefully opened to avoid making noise. Outside of a handful of people who were still awake everyone else was asleep including all five hijackers who were arrested without resistance. After the successful arrest of all hijackers paramedics were called to evacuate the sleeping passengers from the aircraft.  


Cheers went to the room as the news came in that nobody got injured or died during the assault. This was a better outcome than anyone could have predicted. For 18 hours everyone had been under extreme pressure… The weight of the fact that over 300 people’s lives were on the line was unbearable… So now that it all ended well the relief was immense. 

20:29

“Thank you” Sven said to Sander. “What for?” Sander asked. “Your brilliant idea to drug them might have saved the lives of passengers and GIGN operatives who might otherwise have died in the fight… In fact, the GIGN found three home-made bombs on board of the aircraft so if they had been able to detonate them during the assault quite a few people could have died” Sven explained. “I am happy that nobody got injured or died” Sander replied. 

21:37

After a short press conference to announce the successful termination of the hijacking, Robbe and Sander went to bed. Robbe fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow. He was completely exhausted due to the lack of sleep and the stress of being responsible for people’s lives. Sander gave Robbe a goodnight kiss on his cheek. He smiled as he saw how peaceful his angel looked while sleeping. He then placed his arm around Robbe and fell asleep too.


	21. Will you marry me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 21 is a magical number in Sobbe’s life and what can be more magical than a marriage proposal? 
> 
> Guess on what day they will marry? ;)

**Saturday December 12th, 2020**

07:30

The alarm from Robbe’s cell phone woke the two boys up. Sander had fallen asleep last night with his head on Robbe’s chest and eight hours later he was still in this position. He inhaled the sweet smell of his boyfriend. “Good morning baby” Sander said in the sweetest voice. “Good morning cutie” Robbe replied before pulling Sander on top of him. Robbe looked deep in those gorgeous green eyes of his boyfriend before kissing him passionately. Suddenly, the door opened and servants walked in carrying breakfast trays. Breakfast in bed was not their usual habit so Sander knew that Robbe was planning something. Sander’s tray had a vase on it with a single red rose. It immediately reminded him about when he had done the same for Robbe a few months ago. The feeling that it was going to be a special day was further reinforced by the fact that a bottle of champagne was included on the breakfast tray. “Croques on a Saturday? What is going on?” Sander asked. “Nothing” Robbe lied but Sander knew Robbe too well to be fooled by his lie. 

Sander cut a triangular piece from his croque and put it in Robbe’s mouth. “Best croque ever?” Sander asked. “Second best” Robbe replied causing the two boys to erupt in laughter. Robbe then reiterated and too a strawberry which he dipped in whipped cream and put it in Sander’s mouth. Robbe leaned over for a kiss. Sander’s lips tasted like strawberry… “Oooo… First eating” Sander said with a smile. Sander really enjoyed to tease his boyfriend… Robbe laughed and went on eating his food. He opened up the champagne and filled two glasses. He handled one of them to Sander and the two boys toasted their glasses. “To our eternal future together… In this and all other universes” Robbe said. “To us” Sander replied with a smile. 

After a wonderful breakfast Robbe asked Sander: “Do you trust me?” “100%” Sander said confidently. Robbe got out a blindfold and put it over Sander’s eyes. He then got out of bed and left the room. Next, a valet started to dress Sander. When Sander was dressed the valet took him by his arm and guided him through the palace. Sander realized he was now outside as he could feel the cold December wind blowing against his body. The valet removed Sander’s blindfold… A white Tesla was approaching... The car stopped a few meters before him and Elon Musk got out from the driver seat while Robbe got out from the passenger seat. Robbe wore a white shirt woven in a herringbone pattern with French cuffs. His suit was an off-white linen suit which offered some contrast with the pure white shirt. To add a dash of colour he wore a dark purple basket weave tie, a matching purple carnation boutonniere, and also his cufflinks followed the purple theme as they contained a cabochon-shaped amethyst. Sander noticed that he was wearing exactly the same clothing as Robbe. 

To Sander’s right there was a group of musicians who started to play “The Wedding Song” by David Bowie. In the meantime Robbe had approached Sander and he got down on his one knee… And out of nowhere he suddenly had a small jewel box in his hand. Sander had not seen where the box had come from. Robbe opened the box and revealed an antique ring. “Over three centuries ago your ancestor, Philippe de Lorraine, gave this ring to mine, Philippe de France, as a sign of his love. Today, I return the ring with the question: will you marry me, sweetie?” Robbe asked Sander. These words sounded like the most beautiful music ever to Sander’s ears. No piece of David Bowie came even remotely close to the beauty of hearing those words spoken by Robbe’s sweet voice. It took a few seconds, but they felt like an eternity, before Sander’s brain had calmed down enough from the rush of emotions to be able to speak again. “Yes! I want to marry you in all universes” Sander exclaimed in total bliss. Robbe put the ring around Sander’s finger before getting back up, grabbing his fiancé and pulling him in a tight embrace whispering ‘I love you’s’ in Sander’s ear. Robbe’s head moved backwards, he looked into Sander’s eyes… Sparks of love come out of the eyes of both boys. Sander leaned forward and pressed his lips on Robbe’s mouth and they started to kiss. Almost ten minutes long the two boys kept kissing… They were so absorbed into each other that they both had completely missed the fact that dozens of people had assembled around them. They only became aware of this fact because the crowd started to applause. Robbe’s mum, Sander’s parents, Sven, and the entire staff of the Élysée Palace were all there clapping their hands. 

“Your majesty, your highness! My sincere congratulations with your engagement!” Elon said as he handed over the keys of the car. “You wanted to marry in a white Tesla” Robbe said with a wink to Sander. “Thank you, baby! Thank you, Mr. Musk!” Sander said and he pulled Robbe in for a kiss. Next, Sven approached the couple and said: “May I offer you both my sincere congratulations with your engagement. You both belong together, you’re soulmates.” “We will finally become family” Sander said to Sven. “Well we already are…” Sven pointed out. “Wait, what???” the two boys said in disbelief. “You should study your own family history, Sire. René of Anjou married Isabella de Lorraine on October 24th, 1420. Sander’s family descended from René and Isabella. René was a great art lover and it’s said that he even was an amateur artist himself. So, that’s maybe were Sander’s art talent comes from…” Sven explained, making a wink while saying the last sentence. “In fact, there’s a second intermarriage between your families. Antoinette de Bourbon married Claude de Lorraine, the great-grandson of René, who was the first duke of Guise and hence the founder of Sander’s house.” Sven continued. “Oh!” both boys said surprised. It really seemed that some magic must exist between their families… “I however doubt that I’ve inherited my art talent from Robbe’s ancestors… Given my boyfriend’s lack of talent…” Sander stated. “What!” Robbe faked exasperation. “Remember the crown you drew on the photo for Noor’s birthday? Or the drawing you made for Aaron…” Sander stated. “Yeah yeah, but I am better at tennis” Robbe bit back. “You wish, Mr. IJzermans!” Sander laughed. 

09:00

The Royal Council had been summoned by the King. The members of the council had already heard the unofficial gossip about the events from earlier that morning but the King had to officially announce it in session. Robbe and Sander walked in and as they stood in front of the council table, Robbe spoke “I have wonderful news to report to this honourable council. This morning I asked the hand of the duke of Burgundy in marriage. A request that he gracefully excepted.” The council members started to applaud. “The wedding will take place one day after my 18th birthday on Saturday August 21st, 2021. In consultation with his highness, the regent of France, we have decided to combine the marriage with the coronation in one weekend as this would reduce the cost compared to two independent events. The marriage will take place here inside the Élysée and will be restricted to family and good friends. As the coronation on the next day will be a giant public spectacle we prefer to keep the wedding small and private. Though we will allow the wedding ceremony, but not the party thereafter, to be broadcasted on television. We have also decided that Raphael, marquis d'Hautefort d'Ajat will be the head of the organizational committee for the wedding and the coronation.” Robbe explained. 

Next, the council drafted a formal proclamation announcing the marriage to the world. A press conference was set to take place at 15:00. 

13:19

Robbe was meeting Elon Musk to talk about possible future investments in France. In the meantime Sander was making a sketch of his new car. “Sander, can you come. We need to discuss something.” his parents interrupted his creative moment. “Ok” Sander replied and he followed his parents to the salon. They sat down and his mother handed him a small jewellery box. Sander opened the box and immediately recognized the content. It contained a family heirloom that had been passed on from mother to oldest son for almost 300 years to give to his future wife as a wedding gift. Now, Sander was going to give Robbe the medallion containing the ‘Heart of Fire’ diamond. The 4.3 carat, Fancy Red, heart-shaped, Internally Flawless diamond had been the expression of love in Sander’s family for three centuries. 

15:00

A press conference had been called. Journalists from around the world had taken place in the ‘Salle des Fêtes’ (Hall of Festivities) and anxiously awaited the King. Suddenly, the protocol officer announced: “His majesty the King and the Duke of Burgundy!” Robbe entered the room together with Sander hand-in-hand, their fingers interlaced. A detail that immediately drew the attention of the journalists who started to snap pictures of the two lovers. Once in front of the lectern Robbe started: “Bonjour mesdames messieurs. It is with exceptional joy that I am able to announce my engagement with the Duke Sander de Burgundy. Our wedding will take place on the day after my eighteenth birthday, August twenty-first next year.” 

15:47

After the press conference the two boys were looking for a more private place to make out together. They walked from the Hall of Festivities through the Salon Murat, Salon des Aides de Camps, Salon des Ambassadeurs, Salon Pompadour, to finally the Salon des Portraits. Here they started to kiss each other. “I’ve waited already too long for those sweet lips” Sander said before kissing Robbe passionately. But the romantic moment of the two boys was broken when they heard voices coming from the next door room, the Salon Cléopâtre. It sounded like Marie and Louis… Robbe walked towards the door but Sander tried to stop him. “Ignore them… Let us kiss” Sander said. But then the boys heard things that made them freeze… The romantic moment was instantly gone…  


“Come on and let us congratulate my son with his engagement” Louis said. “What is there to celebrate?” Marie said, “You do realize that if he marries Sander we can forget about the €1 billion that the Vannier’s are willing to pay to make him marry their daughter!”. Robbe was furious! Marie was trying to sell him like a piece of clothing… He angrily walked into the Salon Cléopâtre and yelled “Out! Both of you!”. Louis took Marie by her arm and basically forced her to walk with him out of the palace. His father was clearly greatly embarrassed for Marie4s behaviour and his face had the colour of a tomato. Marie instead remained calm and seemed more irritated by the fact that Robbe had found out rather than being embarrassed for her behaviour. A tear was running down Robbe’s cheek. “That’s the woman for who my dad left my mum…” Robbe sobbed. “Don’t let her ruin OUR day” Sander said and he wiped away the tear from his boyfriend’s cheek. He hugged Robbe and feeling Sander’s warm embrace seemed to instantly calm Robbe down. The things Sander did to him… 

19:06

Robbe, Sander, Charlotte, Isabelle, Charles, and Sven were having dinner together. Most days they all had dinner together. For Robbe it felt like he now had a real family. Something he hadn’t felt before when his parents were still together. The atmosphere at home was never very good. His parents were either fighting or ignoring each other. Sander had been more lucky in that his parents genuinely loved each other and did not fight but he too had felt a lack of a family because his parents were always working. But now since Robbe had become King, Sander’s parents had drastically cut back on work and started to spend more time with Sander and Robbe. Hence, in the last few months both boys had finally felt what is was to have a family… 

To celebrate their engagement today’s dinner could be a bit extra… They first had a smoked salmon and cucumber hors d’oeuvre with osetra imperial golden caviar followed by a bisque. Next was a sole meunière with Périgord truffle purée followed by a champagne sorbet. Then came the main dish of venison with grand veneur sauce, pumpkin puree and pommes soufflées followed by an asparagus salad. The dinner was ended with an almond dacquoise with white chocolate mousse, raspberry jelly and covered in a raspberry glaze as dessert. 

“Sander, I spoke with the Paris police commissioner earlier today. He told me that youth criminality is down by about 15% since you started your Youth Art Project (YAP). Apparently, art gives them an outlet for their energy and replaces mischief as an outlet for their frustrations.” Sven told. “That’s great” Sander replied with a happy grin on his face. “And I have more good news. I got a confidential call today from Mr. de Bonneville. He told me that the results from the ongoing phase III clinical trial with the corona vaccine looked promising. If everything goes fine we may have a vaccine by April!” Sven said. Everyone on the table was excited by the news. “We already have an option on 30 million doses, enough for roughly half of the French population. And we’re negotiating about another 20 million doses” Sven stated. “How is the situation currently?” Sander asked. “It’s OK, we have 917 people still in French hospitals at the moment of which 143 on intensive care. So let us hope that we can now keep the situation under control like this until the vaccine arrives…” Sven said. “Yes, let us hope that we don’t need another lockdown” Robbe said. “To be honest, that would be the end of France” Sven said, “We have really reached the end of what the economy can sustain and the French state is no longer able to offer any economic stimuli…”. The mood around the table dropped by this statement. “Sorry” Sven said, “We should not talk about these scenario’s. Not now, that we celebrate your engagement”. 

23:14

The two boys were watching television. Suddenly Sander said “Come my future husband”. “I am not tired yet…” Robbe objected. “Who said anything about sleeping?” Sander said with a big smile. “Oh” Robbe said and he grasped Sander’s hand. Sander pulled Robbe from the sofa and led Robbe to the bathroom. “What would you think about a bath?” Sander asked. “That would be nice” Robbe replied. Sander went over to the bathtub and opened the tap. He regulated the temperature and then put some bath foam in the bath. He then turned to Robbe and the two boys started to undress each other… Soon they were both naked… Robbe’s hands glided over Sander’s naked chest and belly… Robbe’s soft touch send waves of pleasure through Sander’s body. He moved closer and his hands clamped Robbe’s cheeks, followed by a kiss. His hands started to move to the back hugging his boyfriend. In the meantime the bathtub had filled up and the two boys moved into the water. Sander sat down with his back against the side of the bathtub and Robbe laid down with his back on Sander’s chest. Sander wrapped his arms around Robbe. “I cannot imagine my life without you” Sander said. “Neither can I” Robbe replied. “I have something for you” Sander said. Out of the blue Sander had the medallion in his hand and put it around Robbe’s neck. “Wow, it’s beautiful” Robbe said. Next, Sander took a soap bar and started to rotate it around in his hands but then it slipped out and fell into the bathtub. Not really by accident, he planned it that way… “Whoops!” Sander exclaimed. He stuck his hand under water and started to feel for the bar of soap… Robbe started to giggle as Sander’s hands found other things than the soap bar he was looking for… 

Sander took Robbe to bed. “Lay down on your belly” Sander instructed. Sander sat over Robbe and he started to massage Robbe’s back. Robbe moaned… It felt so good… Sander’s soft and warm hands massaged Robbe’s muscles. His whole body relaxed… Sander bended down and kissed Robbe’s neck. “I want you…” Robbe said. “Patience baby” Sander replied. He loved to take his time… Letting Robbe beg for it… “Please…” Robbe begged. “Patient, I am going to massage your legs now” Sander said. Sander started from the bottom, gradually working his way up… It took him more than ten minutes before he reached Robbe’s pelvic area… Robbe started to moan… Finally, Sander had reached the target… “I… love… you…” Robbe managed to say. “I love you too baby” Sander replied. Robbe’s moaning became more intense… It felt so good… Sander felt so good…


	22. Christmas in the Provence

**Saturday December 19th, 2020**

09:18

“I think you both deserve a break” Sven said to Robbe and Sander, “I’ve talked to Raymond d'Anduze-Roquefeuil, he has a castle in the Provence surrounded by over 200 hectares of fields and forests. There you could retreat for a little vacation in complete anonymity. By keeping this completely secret we can eliminate the need for stringent security. I think that just 5 GIGN operatives, on site, would be sufficient.” “Oh, wow!” Sander said, “I will really enjoy some private time with Robbe”. “Me too…” Robbe said with a smile. “I propose that you both go there today and on Christmas eve we… Me, Charlotte, Charles, and Isabelle will come over to celebrate Christmas” Sven said. “But… What about his dad?” Charlotte asked. “Well, Louis is welcome but I am afraid he will bring Marie with him…” Sven explained. “NO!” Robbe said firmly, “Marie is not welcome”. “I agree” Sven said. 

Sven’s phone rang. “Speak of the devil! It’s Louis” Sven said. “Your majesty” Sven said. “Your highness, we’re very concerned because we have so far not received an invitation for the Royal Christmas party yet” Louis said. “Well… We want to keep it very small. Just family… Therefore, you’re welcome but Marie’s not family…” Sven explained. “You’re saying that Marie is not welcome?!” Louis asked angrily. Sven could hear Marie erupt in a fury through the phone… “I bet that Sander and his parents are invited” Louis fulminated. “They will become family in a few months” Sven said. “Marie too” Louis shouted back. “I wouldn’t count on that” Sven replied dryly. “What???” Louis yelled. “You need permission from his majesty to marry and I don’t think his majesty is keen on having Marie as his stepmom…” Sven explained. In anger Louis immediately ended the phone call. 

11:13

The two boys had packed their bags. To prevent paparazzi from finding out that the boys had left on holiday they would get smuggled out of the palace in the back of a van that delivers flowers. 

Mrs. Caron arrived in her van to bring new flowers to the palace. After unloading the flowers, Robbe and Sander slipped into the back of the van and the van left the palace. Sander gave one of his AirPods to Robbe we put it into his ear while Sander pressed play on his ‘advanced Bowie playlist’. “You still have to take your advanced Bowie exam” Sander remembered his boyfriend. Robbe smiled. “Let’s do it now” he said, “We don’t have anything else to do here in the back of the van”. “Ok, but I will be a strict examiner…” Sander warned. 

“First question: What song are we currently listening to?” Sander asked. “That’s easy: I'm Afraid of Americans” Robbe said. “Good, from what albums is this song and in what year was it released?” “Easy, Earthling from 1997” Robbe said, “Your Instagram is named after this album”. “You’re right, that was indeed too easy” Sander said. “Second question” Sander said. He selected another song and payed a piece of it before pausing the music and asking Robbe: “What’s the title of the song, the album, and when was it released?”. “That’s Fantastic voyage from the 1979 album Lodger” Robbe said. “Again good” Sander said proudly. “Third question” he said while selecting another song and had it play until: “If you say run. I'll run with you. And if you say hide. We'll hide”. Then he paused the song and asked “continue”. “Because my love for you. Would break my heart in two. If you should fall into my arms. And tremble like a flower” Robbe sang. “Very good” Sander said proudly. He then suddenly took a red rose from behind his back and gave it to Robbe. He must have snatched it out of one of the bouquets when the van was being unloaded. “Your reward” he said. “Thank you sweetie” Robbe said. “But I deserve another reward too…” he said while going in for a kiss. “Oooo…” Sander said, “Were not done with the exam yet”. 

Another 15 minutes later and they finally were at the last question of the Bowie exam. “This is a difficult one…” Sander warned Robbe. He selected a song and had it play. “Super easy” Robbe exclaimed, “Heroes from the like-named album released in 1977”. “Yes, but that was not the question” Sander laughed. “Who wrote this song together with Bowie?” Sander asked. “Hmmmm…” Robbe was thinking. He desperately sought though all the information stored in his head. Shit! He should know this… His face was getting red from embarrassment. “Sorry, I don’t know…” Robbe said. “There goes the greatest distinction!” Sander said., “But with 19 on 20 you still pass the exam”. “What was the answer?” Robbe demanded. “Brian Eno” Sander stated. “Fock yeah, now I recall” Robbe said angry at himself. 

19:37

The two boys arrived at the castle. It was a beautiful 16th century castle in sandstone. It had two big pavilions on both ends of the front façade with turrets flanking each pavilion on both sides. The turrets started from the first floor and extended to the roof and were topped by long octagonal conical roofs made of dark blue-greyish slate, as was the rest of the roof of the castle. The roof counted three dormers, one in the middle above the entrance portal and one on each pavilion. 

360° around the castle all you could see were gardens, grasslands, forests, and a massive lake. The view is beyond believable… Robbe’s eye was drawn by an ancient oak tree that was standing just outside of the house. The robustness of the tree was a reminder that it would survive anything. It had stood there for a long time and it was going to continue standing there for a long time to come... But the scars on its surface each tell a story of what the tree had gone through over its long lifespan. It made Robbe think about the scars in his life. The things he had wished that he could change. Like when he called Sander the f-word and slammed the door in his face. Robbe still felt so bad about that. He was never going to hurt Sander like that… NEVER!  


Raymond d'Anduze-Roquefeuil, the castle owner was waiting for them. He warmly greeted the two boys and gave them the keys of his castle. “It’s all yours for a week” he said with a smile. “Thank you so much. I ready needed a vacation and this place is astonishing…” Robbe replied with a smile. “I also get instantly happy when I come over here, sire” Raymond said. Sander gave Raymond a painting as a thank you for allowing the boys to stay in his castle. “Oh, it’s beautiful” Raymond said, visibly moved by the painting. 

21:49

After dinner the two boys went to the drawing room. There Sander noticed a piano in the corner of the room. He went to the piano and started to play “Two Men in Love” from The Irrepressibles. Robbe knew that Sander could sing but he didn’t know that Sander could also play the piano. He was really good at it. His boyfriend had so many artistic talents: drawing, painting, photography, and now music too… 

After finishing his song he went over to Robbe who had put a blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace. Sander sat down next to his boyfriend and said: “you’re so beautiful” while his fingers ran through Robbe’s hair and down his left cheek with his index finger. “Charmer” Robbe laughed. Robbe took his lap top and opened Youtube. He looked up Mr. Bean at the swimming pool. For some reason he had to think back of that night at the swimming pool when he kissed Sander for the first time. In a way it was similar to the Mr. Bean episode because it too was awkward but for different reasons. That night Robbe’s mind had been blow. He had experienced a feeling that he had never ever had in his life before…

After watching the movie, Sander closed the lap top while Robbe laid down on his back on the blanket. Sander crawled on top of Robbe and started kissing him. Robbe inhaled the spicy winter perfume that Sander was wearing and it drove him crazy. Robbe’s wrapped his arms around Sander’s body. Sander broke the kiss to say “I love you” before going in for another kiss. He then moved down and gave Robbe a hicky on his neck before shitting up to removing his t-shirt. Robbe’s hands immediately started to feel Sander’s chest. “My perfect Adonis” Robbe exclaimed as his eyes inspected Sander’s naked chest. Sander grabbed Robbe’s t-shirt and pulled it off too before going down to suck Robbe’s left nipple. Robbe moaned while he placed his right hand on the back of Sander’s head. His fingers moved through Sander’s hair. God he loved his boyfriends hair. Well… He loved every part of Sander. His hair, his green emerald eyes, his sweet lips, his jokes, his slightly toned chest, his smell, his soft and warm hands,… Sander was perfect in every way. Robbe was burning from desire but Sander never took things too fast. He enjoyed taking his time and letting Robbe beg for it. “Please…” Robbe moaned, “I need you… Take me… I am all yours…”. Sander opened Robbe’s belt buckle followed by undoing the fly of his pants. Robbe started to moan louder. Soon Sander had not only removed Robbe’s pants but also his own. He again laid down on top of Robbe and started to kiss him. Suddenly, Robbe took the initiative and flipped them around so that he was now on top. He went down on Sander… First kissing his right nipple, then further down over his stomach… To finally reach his target… Sander was now the one moaning in pleasure…

**Sunday December 20th, 2020**

09:30

Sander was looking around in the kitchen. “What are you looking for?” Robbe asked. “I am thinking what to make for breakfast” Sander replied. “It’s Sunday” Robbe said. “Pancakes maybe?” Sander asked. He saw the confused look on Robbe’s face and he started to laugh. “Ok, Ok, croques it is” Sander said. “You really like to tease me…” Robbe said. “Teasing is asking for love” Sander said. Robbe had a big smile on his face and walked over to kiss Sander. “Ooooo… First making breakfast” Sander teased. “I’ll make the coffee” Robbe said. He wasn’t much of a kitchen prince so he stuck to the simple things like making coffee while Sander took care of the croque. 

Twenty minutes later the croques and coffee were ready. Robbe took the coffee while Sander carried the croques to the table. Suddenly, Robbe turned around and kissed Sander. “Oooo, I know I am also tasty but our croques are getting cold…” Sander said. Robbe laughed. He loved Sander’s jokes so much. 

13:17

“Come” Robbe said. “What are we going to do?” Sander asked. “You’ll see… Come…” Robbe said. A few minutes later the two boys were in the stables were two beautiful big horses were standing, one black and one white. “I’ve never driven a horse…” Sander said. “I’ll teach you” Robbe said with a smile. Robbe wasted no time and got up on the black horse. Sander followed Robbe’s example and got on the white horse. After a small instruction lesson by Robbe about how to ride a horse the two boys were ready for a ride through the estate. “Come, my prince on the white horse” Robbe yelled as he tapped the horse to start moving. 

15:58

After their horse ride through the beautiful nature around the castle, Sander decided to sketch the castle. He was sitting down in his distinguishing thin leather jacket with his sketch book in his hands. “Aren’t you freezing” Robbe asked. It was just 2°C today and Robbe’s body was already shaking. “No, you make me hot” Sander replied dryly. Robbe went and sat down behind Sander. A large shiver went to Robbe’s body when his buttocks hit the cold ground. He wrapped his arms around Sander and gave him a kiss in his neck.

17:16

The last “task” of the day was to decorate the two Christmas trees. The boys started with the tree in the drawing room. After they had put the lights into the tree, they were ready to decorate it. Blue, white and gold was the colour pellet chosen for the drawing room decoration.

After finishing the drawing room tree they started with the entrance hall tree. To celebrate their love they had decided to decorate this tree in the colours of the LGBT flag: purple balls on the bottom of the tree, above blue, then green, yellow, orange, and finally red balls on top. The choice of this tree for the entrance hall was also symbolic as it meant that this would be the first thing that anyone who entered the house would see. A pride display of their love for each other. “Which closet?” Robbe had jokingly said when he proposed the LGBT tree idea to Sander referring to the Instagram picture with which they announced their relationship to the world. 

**Tuesday December 22nd, 2020**

09:00

Robbe got out of bed and looked out of the window. “Snow!” he exclaimed, “We’re going to have a white Christmas”. “Hmmm…” Sander murmured and he turned around. “Come on sleeping beauty!” Robbe pleaded. “Coming in a bit…” Sander whispered with his eyes still closed. Robbe knew what was needed. Sander needed his coffee to wake up so Robbe headed to the kitchen and turned on the expresso machine. He filled the machine with Sander’s favourite Columbian beans and made two cups of expresso. As Robbe retuned to the bedroom the smell of the expresso already started to have the desired effect on Sander. He opened his eyes… “Good morning baby” Sander said. “Good morning sleeping beauty” Robbe repeated himself while handing the cup of expresso to Sander. “Thank you” he said with a smile. After Sander had taken a few sips from his coffee Robbe stated: “And now out of bed or it’s gone be bread with choco for breakfast”. “You really should learn to cook” Sander said. “Why would I do that when I have you” Robbe joked. “Who is going to do the household chores when we’re married?” Sander inquired. “The butler, of course” Robbe stated and the two boys started laughing. 

10:42

After a good breakfast and hot shower, Robbe put on his jacket and beanie. “Come on, jack frost” Robbe joked. “Coming” Sander yelled back as he too grabbed his leather jacket and beanie. And the two boys headed out... Robbe took some snow and made it into a ball and threw it to Sander who jumped aside just before the ball was going to hit him on the chest. “Hahahaha, you missed” Sander was cheerful. He grabbed snow and made a ball himself and threw it to Robbe who in a moment of distraction had not seen the ball coming and was hit by it full in the face. He quickly started to rub the cold snow of his face… “Oh sorry baby” Sander said apologetically. “I am not made of porcelain like B…” Robbe said but he quickly stopped before finishing the sentence. Fock! He and Sander had promised each other to never talk about her again. Sander didn’t seem to mind Robbe’s remark. He had made another snow ball in the meantime… The two boys continued their snow ball fight. 

12:04

Robbe’s phone rang. It was Sven… “Hello” Robbe said. “Your majesty. I have some bad news. This morning the leader of the terrorist group that hijacked flight 1719 was found murdered in his cell… Given that he had not yet given any answers during the interrogations it is my suspicion that someone silenced him…”. “Oh, that’s bad…” Robbe said, “You think the other terrorists will talk?” “I am afraid that they were nothing more than foot soldiers who had very little knowledge of what was going on…” Sven said. “Than it’s imperative that we find his killer as the killer might lead us to the brain(s) behind the operation” Robbe said. 

16:21

Sander had gone out to make some sketches while Robbe had decided to stay indoors. When Sander returned he found his boyfriend sitting in the drawing room reading a book. “What are you reading?” Sander asked. “Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari” Robbe replied. “I’ve heard about that book. It talks about the future of humanity, right?” Sander asked. “Yep” Robbe replied, “Yuval thinks that soon we will be able to extend human lifespans”. “I wouldn’t mind spending eternity with you” Sander said with a smile as he wrapped his angel in his arms. 

22:37

Robbe was watching television but Sander had disappeared almost an hour ago. “Where was he?” Robbe wondered. He could go and search for him… No, if Sander needed some time alone than Robbe was going to respect that. 

Suddenly Robbe heard a sound… “HoHoHo!” Robbe turned around and saw Santa Claus or rather Sander in a Santa Claus costume. “Sander…” Robbe said in disbelief. He stood up and walked to his boyfriend. He grabbed the front Sander’s costume in his both hands and looked in his boyfriends green mesmerizing eyes. “Sander…” Robbe repeated, still in disbelief before going in for a kiss. Their lips collided and Robbe tasted Sander’s sweet lips. A shudder of ecstasy went through Robbe’s whole body. “You really like old men with beards” Sander joked. Robbe laughed. This was his boyfriends humour and he loved it. “Come” Sander suddenly said as he grabbed Robbe’s hand. “What are we going to do?” Robbe questioned. “Just come” Sander said while pulling his boyfriend up the staircase… Sander opened the door to the bedroom. Red rose petals were scattered over the bed and hundreds of candles lit up the room. Robbe was overwhelmed by emotions. His boyfriend always took things one step further... “I love you so much” Robbe said and he went in for another kiss. 

Moments later the two boys had stripped down naked. Robbe laid down while Sander put on some romantic music. He opened the bottle of champagne, that was standing next to the bed in an ice bucket, and he poured two glasses. “Messieur” Sander said as he handed the glass to Robbe. “Do we have something to celebrate?” Robbe inquired. “Our love” Sander replied confidently. Robbe smiled as he took a sip of his glass. “What did I do to deserve you?” Robbe inquired. Sander couldn’t believe his ears. In his opinion it was him who was the lucky one. For years Sander had believed that he wasn’t worth to be loved. This boy had changed his life. For the first time Sander felt true happiness…

Robbe pushed Sander down in bed and laid down on him. He looked into Sander’s eyes. He cupped Sander’s face in his hands and went down for a kiss. As their lips touched a wave of electricity travelled through Robbe’s whole body. All his senses were on high alert. He smelled Sander’s perfume, he felt the heat of Sander’s body, the softness of his skin, he tasted Sander’s tongue in his mouth,… Robbe was burning with desire. He went down and started to kiss Sander’s left nipple. Robbe could feel the vibration of Sander’s heart on his lips as he kept kissing the nipple. Robbe moved further down… “Ooooo…” Sander said. It was going a bit too fast for his liking. He really enjoyed taking things slowly and driving Robbe insane with desire before giving in. He stopped Robbe and pulled him up before turning him and Robbe around so that he was now on top. He was going to take charge and make Robbe beg for it…

**Thursday December 24th, 2020**

08:30

Robbe’s alarm woke the two boys up. Sander was laying on his back while Robbe was laying on his left side with his head on Sander’s shoulder and his hand on Sander’s left nipple. He could feel Sander’s heartbeat… “Good morning cutie” Robbe said. “Good morning baby” Sander replied. Robbe went in for a kiss. He felt Sander’s sweet lips on his own. A feeling he never got tired of. Even after a million years each kiss from Sander would feel as magical as the first one… Robbe was sure about that. 

16:39

Sven, Charlotte, Charles, and Isabella arrived at the chateau. “Hey my boy” Sander’s parents said. “Hi Dad, Hi mum” Sander replied. “Hello Robbe” Charlotte said. “Hi mum” Robbe replied. The two boys hugged their parents. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your vacation” Sven said. “Yes, we did” both boys exclaimed. 

19:11

Jens: [Where are you?] 

Robbe: [???]

Jens: [We’re all waiting for you and Sander]

Robbe: [Huh? What?]

Jens: [Yes, at your Christmas party]

Robbe: [What Christmas party?]

Jens: [The one in the Hall Napoléon in the Louvre museum]

Robbe: [I am not aware of a Christmas party there. I am celebrating far away from Paris with Sander and my family…] 

Jens: [But… Several hundred people are waiting here for you… We all got invited to the Royal Christmas Party…]

Robbe: [I didn’t organize a party there…] 

Jens: [Marie says you asked her to organize the party…] 

Robbe: [No, I didn’t!] 

19:34

Jens: [People are very angry here that you’re not coming]

Zoë: [I was just with Marie. She is telling everyone that you set her up. That you asked her to organize a party and then not show up to embarrass her]

Mylan: [She literally said: “I’ve treated that boy as if he was my own son… And this is how he thanks me?”]

Robbe: [WTF!]

Robbe: [Dad, what is going on there?]

Dad: [Why did you do this? Why did you have to embarrass Marie by not showing up to the party that you’ve asked her to organize?]

Robbe: [I didn’t ask her to organize a party!]

Dad: [How dare you to lie to me like that!]

Robbe: [Marie made this up]

Dad: [She only wants the best for you and all you do is bully her]

This was it! Robbe couldn’t take it anymore! He threw his phone away in anger. His face had gotten red… Inside Robbe was boiling in anger. His own dad believed that he would do such a thing… Tears ran down his cheeks and Robbe ran away. Sven turned to Sander and without a word the two boys understood each other. So, Sander stood up and went after Robbe…

Robbe was sitting on the bed crying when Sander came in. Sander went to Robbe and hugged him. Robbe’s face now rested on Sander’s left shoulder while Sander put his right hand on the back of Robbe’s head. Sander’s presence helped Robbe to calm down… “Why? Why does she do this?” Robbe sobbed. “People will see through her… They will know that she’s lying…” Sander said. “Yeah but still… And my dad supports her” Robbe sobbed. “She has wrapped him around her finger… But his eyes will be opened sooner or later too…” Sander said. “But don’t let Marie ruin our Christmas” Sander said while looking into Robbe’s eyes. “Sorry” Robbe said. “No, you don’t have to apologize” Sander said and he took Robbe’s hand and lead him back to the dining room. 

20:30

Robbe had calmed down and returned with Sander to the drawing room. Everyone was starving by now… It was really time to start the Réveillon, the traditional French Christmas dinner. First, champagne as aperitive with a canape of smoked salmon and caviar. Next, the dinner was started with grilled oysters covered in champagne sabayon. Before the main, the digestion was aided with a ‘trou normand’, citrus sorbet drenched in calvados liqueur. As main dish they had chosen for the traditional roasted Christmas turkey with chestnut and pommes dauphine. Sven had brought multiple bottles of wine from his domain, La Romanée-Conti, to serve with the main. This domain had belonged to the prince of Conti, a cadet line of the house of Bourbon-Condé. Now, Sven prince de Condé co-owned the domain together with Louis-Phillippe, prince de Conti. Louis-Philippe was living in the United States and Robbe had only met him twice. Next up was the traditional cheese board and wine. Finally, the dinner ended with the traditional 13 desserts. A real tradition in the Provence region of France. The 13 desserts served were: a pompe à l'huile, walnuts, dried figs, almonds, raisins, apples, pears, green melon, mandarins, candied fruit, black and white nougat, angel wings, and calissons. All this was served with Château d'Yquem, a sweet desert wine from the Sauternes region in the South-West of France. Sander took an angel wing and put it in Robbe’s mouth. As Robbe bit down, the powdered sugar covered the areas around his mouth. Sander started to laugh seeing his boyfriend covered in white power before he took a napkin and cleaned Robbe’s face. 

**Friday December 25th, 2020**

00:00

“Merry Christmas, Robin” Sander said while giving his boyfriend three kisses. “Merry Christmas to you too” Robbe replied. After everyone had exchanged Christmas wishes it was time to exchange presents. Sander gave Robbe a bottle of Chivas Regal 25 whiskey. But not just any bottle… Sander had succeeded in convincing the producer to make a special bottle for him. One with a drawing that he had made of him with Robbe on the label. This was so typical Sander. He always went that extra step to make things more special. Robbe pulled him in for a kiss, the best way to convene his appreciation of Sander’s gift. Next, Robbe gave Sander a box wrapped in a black gift wrap paper with white snow crystals. He knew this would appeal to Sander’s aesthetics. Sander opened his present and found inside a collection of his favourite art supplies: a sketch book, some charcoal pencils, a box of Faber-Castell polychromos pencils, a kneaded eraser, numerous tubes of Old Holland oil paint, bottles with paint medium, turpentine, and varnish. Robbe knew his boyfriend well. He knew exactly the brands, sizes, colour tones,… that his boyfriend preferred. “Thank you baby. All I needed to restock my supplies…” Sander said. 

Sven gave Robbe “Alberts et al. Molecular Biology of the Cell”. “I know you wanted to study biomedical sciences and that’s not possible now but you can always study it in your free time and become a citizen-scientist” Sven said. To Sander he gave a collection of ten different types of Columbian coffee beans. Robbe gave Sven “A crack in creation”, the book by the famous biochemist Jennifer Doudna about the discovery of the genome editing tool CRISPR-Cas9. Sander in turn gave Sven a bottle of his favourite port wine. Charlotte have her son the book “Deep medicine” by Eric Topol. “To prepare you for the AI symposium” she said. Indeed, a meeting of the leading artificial intelligence experts was going to take place in the Élysée in a few months to discuss the future of AI. To Sander she gave a t-shirt of David Bowie. Robbe gave his mum a necklace of Tahitian pearls. Sander’s mum gave him a bottle of his favourite perfume and Sander gave her a physics book autographed by Albert Einstein. He gave his dad a collection of novels. In return, his dad gave him a new camera. “Wow, a Nikon Z7!” Sander exclaimed, “45.7MP with a max burst speed of 9fps”. “Sometimes you can be such a nerd” Robbe teased. “Says the science guy” Sander teased back. 

After exchanging the presents they filled the rest of the night paying various games including Rummikub and poker. They were one big happy family… The fun lasted till after 5:00 when finally, completely exhausted everyone went to bed for a short night. 

11:14

Robbe finally woke up… He found himself alone in bed… Sander must be already up but must have decided to let Robbe sleep. Robbe quickly put on some clothing and left for the salon. There he found Sander, Charlotte and Sven. The atmosphere was not very good at all. “What’s wrong?” Robbe asked. Sven showed Robbe the online news article from Starweek magazine. The title read: “Christmas party deceit: The King skipped his own party to humiliate his future stepmom”. Clearly, Marie had orchestrated this... She must have leaked the distorted truth about last night to the media to harm Robbe. Robbe was furious. Why was she so nasty? And more surprisingly, why did his dad tolerate this? 

15:14

Robbe, Sander and their parents were sitting together having coffee and cake while looking through old photo albums that their parents had brought with them. The ideal way to spend Christmas… Getting to know each other’s future family better… Robbe was going through an album that contained pictures of Sander as a child. Suddenly, he saw a picture of an approximately 10 year old Sander taken in a theme park on a family holiday. Next to him was a young, approximately 7 year old, girl in a white dress. She had long brown hair and green eyes. “Who is she?” Robbe asked. Sander turned towards Robbe to look at the picture but as soon as he saw it tears started to pour down his eyes. He got up and walked out. Robbe was shocked. “Her name was Lisa. She was Sander’s younger sister” Isabelle said. “Oh…” Robbe said in shock, “was…”. “She died when she was 7 years old. Hit by a drunk driver… It was after her death that… that his episodes started” Isabelle explained. “He has a fear of being left behind” she added. Suddenly, Robbe had to think back to when he found Sander in the academy after his breakdown. Now Robbe understood where Sander’s fear for being left behind had come from. “Sorry…” Robbe said. “You couldn’t have known it” Isabelle said. “Robbe, I think Sander needs you” Sven said. Robbe got up and went to look for his boyfriend.


	23. New year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday Robbe!!!

**Wednesday December 30th, 2020**

Today Robbe and Sander’s friends would come over to celebrate New Years with the boys. They were going to stay for three days. Finally, as Robbe hadn’t seen most of his friends, with the exception of Jens, since it all started in mid-November… At least not in real-life, he had of course video chatted with the Broerrrs, and with Zoë, Milan, Yasmina,… Everyone would come over, even Yasmina... Her parents had first strongly opposed to let their daughter go unsupervised to Paris for several days but in an uncharacteristic moment of rebellion she had stated that she would go with or without their approval. Eventually her parents had given in. Also, Sander’s friends from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp were coming over. 

09:12

Robbe and Sander were having breakfast together when Willem III walked in, clearly nervous. Robbe looked at him. He held a folded piece of paper in his right hand. “Yes?” Robbe inquired. “Sire, mail for you” Willem said. Robbe took the piece of paper and as he read it he choked in his coffee. Robbe started to cough. After a few seconds when he had regained his breathing, he stood up, threw the piece of paper on the table and visibly angry walked out. Sander took the paper and started to read… It was a bill from the Louvre for Marie’s Christmas party. Not only had she dared to organize a party in Robbe’s name without his knowledge, she now also had the audacity to send him the bill. 

12:28

The broerrrs arrived. Aaron was unsure how to greet Robbe… A reverence? A handshake? A hug? So he attempted a strange awkward combination of the three causing Sander to roll his eyes and Jens and Moyo to erupt in laughter. “I am still a broerrr” Robbe clarified while giving Jens a hug. 

“Yellow curtains” Moyo said surprised when he walked into the drawing room. “It shouldn’t always be blue, red, or green ones” Robbe replied, barely able to supress his laugh as he thought back to his conversation with Sander. “You’re really becoming arty” Moyo stated. “I have a good influence on Robin” Sander joked. “Fancy place” Aaron remarked. In the meantime Moyo’s eyes had fallen on the ice bucket containing beer bottles on the table. “No more cheap beer, I see” Moyo said. “Life’s too short to waste it drinking dishwashing water…” Robbe said with a wink. In the meantime Jens had already cracked open a bottle. The other boys followed his example and after a cheers they started to drink. 

“How are things at school?” Robbe inquired. “The first weeks after it all it was a madhouse… With journalists flocking around the school trying to ask everyone questions about you but now things are back to normal…” Moyo explained. “You forget something…” Aaron added, “Last week he kissed Britt”. Jens shot an angry glance in Aaron’s direction and the otherwise indifferent Moyo started to blush. Aaron was the least diplomatic one of the broerrrs and often said things without thinking first…. An icy cold silence fell over the room. The silence was broken when Moyo started to explain: “Sorry, we both were drunk… There was no meaning behind it… I am not in love with her or so…”. But he was interrupted by Robbe: “There’s no need to avoid talking about her in my presence. Britt is in the past. We’re happy together now. I don’t hold a grunge against her…”. 

13:21

The door opened and as the boys turned around to see who had arrived they heard “helloolly”. Yep, Milan had arrived together with Jonathan, Zoë and Senne. Milan didn’t lose a moment, he walked straight to Robbe and gave him a loving hug. Robbe had also missed his ‘guru’ and was excited to see him again. “How are you?” Milan asked. “Good” Robbe said with a smile. Milan went on to give Sander a big hug. 

After everyone had greeted each other they sat down in the sofa. “I heard that Jonathan has moved into the flat share” Robbe said. “Yep! And there’s more… We haven’t told anyone yet… But, we’re engaged!” Milan shouted from excitement. “Congratulations!” everyone shouted. Zoë was surprised that Milan had successfully hidden that from her for… well how long… “He asked me last week” Jonathan explained, “And I immediately said yes”. “Do you already have a date?” Jens asked. “No… We still have to start planning the wedding… Maybe autumn?” Milan replied. 

Sven walked in. “Robbe, the director of the CIA wants to talk to us…” Sven said. Robbe was surprised. He wouldn’t have expected a phone call from the director of the American Central Intelligence Agency. What did he want? Robbe stood up and left the room… 

14:16

Robbe returned with a heavy face. Everyone wondered what had happened. “What’s wrong?” Milan asked, knowing that whatever it was Robbe would not be able to tell him. “I need some fresh air” Robbe said and upon hearing this Sander immediately got up and the two boys left for a walk in the garden. 

15:22

Jana arrived. She had flown all the way from New York to attend Robbe’s New Years party. Just weeks after he mum had started her new position as Deputy Director of the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services, she was contacted by Sven with the offer to become French Ambassador to the United Nations. She gladly accepted that offer and took on the French nationality. 

“Hey Robbe” Jana said. “Oh, hello Jana” Robbe said surprised as he hadn’t expected that she would come all the way from NY to attend his party. Jana picked up on Robbe’s surprise and stated: “I wouldn’t dream of missing this party”. After hugging Robbe she immediately went over to hug Jens. While they had broken up two years ago, she and Jens still remained good friends and had strongly missed each other. “How have you been?” Robbe asked. “To be honest… I miss Antwerp. NY is just a bit too big and busy for me… But aside from that I can’t complain. I now see my mum much more than I used to as she no longer has to leave constantly on business trips. She knows that moving to NY was a big change for me and she’s really trying hard to give me some more daughter-mother time” Jana explained. “Must be so wonderful to go shopping in NYC” Milan said with a smile. “Yes, it is a shopping paradise” Jana replied. 

16:42

Sander’s friends from the Antwerp academy arrived. So, he excused himself and took his friends to his art studio. Unknowingly, Sander’s friends and the girls from Robbe’s former school had taken the same train to Paris, so not much later the girls walked in. Amber immediately walked to Aaron, who got up. As Amber reached Aaron they immediately gave each other a kiss. “Come” Amber said, “Let us explore Paris, the city of love”. “But…” Aaron said embarrassed. He couldn’t just walk away with Amber. They were both guests of Robbe. It would be rude to now immediately leave… “We’re here until January 2nd so you will have enough time left to hang out with the broerrrs…” Amber said. Aaron looked at Amber trying to non-verbally tell here “please, don’t”. But Amber said: “You don’t mind, right?” to Robbe. What could Robbe say other than: “No, it’s fine. Enjoy!”. So, Amber took Aaron’s hand and led him out… 

19:13

Sander came into the room where Robbe and the Broerrrs were sitting and he started: “I… huh… I might have said something without thinking… I kind of promised my friends that we could get a private tour of the Louvre…” Sander said while looking at Robbe with his puppy eyes. “You shouldn’t promise things you can’t deliver…” Robbe said dryly. “Oh, huh” Sander said. “Now, you’ve embarrassed yourself in front of your friends” Robbe stated. Sander’s face had turned to sadness… “Your face!” Robbe giggled. Did he start to develop the same sense of humor as Sander? Or was he taking “revenge” for all the times that Sander had pulled similar jokes on him? Robbe turned to Willem III and said: “Call the director of the Louvre”. “Oh, really…” Sander said surprised. Robbe stood up and walked to Sander. He grabbed him by his hoody and looked him into the eyes. “How can I refuse anything when you look at me like that” Robbe said with a smile before kissing his boyfriend. “The director will be at the entrance of the Louvre in half an hour” Willem III said. 

**Thursday December 31st, 2020**

09:05

Everyone was in the dining room for a buffet-style breakfast. There were cereals, croissants, French toast, brioche, scrambled eggs, soft boiled eggs, cured ham, smoked Scottish salmon, chocolate spread, various fruit preserves, yoghurt, coffee and tea, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a selection of fruits and berries. 

A servant brought in a selection of daily newspapers and magazines. Luca delved in to look for a juicy gossip magazine when she found the copy of ‘Riche et beau’. This was the prime gossip magazine of France that often caused controversy as they employed all means necessary to obtain their stories… “WTFock!” Luca yelled drawing everyone’s attention. She held up the magazine revealing the cover which featured a big picture of Sander. The headline read: “Exclusive interview with ex-girlfriend of Sander!”  


Before anyone had realized what was happening Robbe was snatching the magazine out of Luca’s hands. He mentally prepared himself for reading Britt’s venom but nothing could have prepared him for what he read. “You say that Robbe abused Sander?” the journalist’s question was printed in bold. “Yes, just after their first date Sander came back to me. He had a blue eye and his body was full of bruises. I asked him what had happened but he didn’t want to talk about it. I think it was clear who had done it… Robbe may look like a cute and lovely boy on the outside but looks can deceive...” Britt had replied. “You say that Sander is unsuited to be King-Consort of France. Why is that?” the journalist wanted to know. “Sander is bipolar. Would you want your country to be led by an unstable person?” Britt replied. “I’ve heard that you’re currently writing a book” the journalist question read. “Yes, it’s going to be called ‘Our story’ because it details our 6 months together” Britt said. “And do you still have things to say after this interview?” the journalist asked. “Certainly, a lot of things happen when you are together with Sander for 6 months” Britt replied. “Can you give us a small glimpse into your book?” the journalist asked. “Well, there’s going to be a whole chapter devoted to our sex life…” she said. By now Robbe’s face had become as red as a tomato. His blood was boiling in fury. Robbe was so furious that he ripped the magazine in pieces before running out. Sander picked up the pieces and puzzled them together… When he read Britt’s words a tear ran down his cheek. Especially her reference to that night when he and Robbe became victims of gay bashing ripped open that old wound. But even worse was that she dared to say that his angel had done that. Sander too ran out of the room and disappeared.

After the two boys had both reacted so strongly, everyone wanted to know what was in the article. Zoë sat closest to the article so she took the pieces and started reading them loudly so everyone could follow. However, she suddenly stopped, her face in horror and she said: “No, I can’t read this”. She herself had seen the bruises covering Robbe’s body that morning… While Zoë failed to speak the words, Moyo took over. Everyone was in shock, not in the least Milan. Shock turned to anger... 

In a moment Sven had assessed the situation and worked out a plan of action. He expected that Sander would be the one who was in biggest distress over this article. Sven knew that Sander had blamed himself for what happened that night. If he hadn’t taken his angel on a date than they wouldn’t have been beaten up. The reason for why he went back to Britt the next day was because he felt guilty. In his mind he was toxic and everything he touched got destroyed. He couldn’t let that happen to Robbe. He would sacrifice himself, sacrifice his happiness to protect Robbe. So, Sven decided to first go and find Sander while instructing Jens to go and find his best friend. 

Sven did not have to look long for Sander. He knew Sander well and the boy was predictable. He was obviously hiding in his art studio. When Sven walked in he saw Sander sitting on the floor with his back against the wall crying… He walked over, sat down and wrapped his arms around Sander. “I hurt Robbe again…” he wept. “No, Britt hurt the both of you. You’re not responsible…” Sven said. “She’s my ex…” Sander stated. “Yes, you’ve dumped her but that doesn’t give her the right to take revenge like this. You have zero responsibility for the current situation. Nobody has ever made Robbe as happy as you have, and nobody ever will…” Sven said. Sven lifted Sander’s head with his finger and looked him in the eyes: “Robin needs you. Come, let’s go to him”.  


When Sven and Sander walked into the bedroom they found Robbe laying on his bed crying with Jens trying to console him. Jens got up as Sander walked in and both Sven and Jens left the room. 

11:01

Louis and Marie walked into the salon. “Where’s that poor Sander boy?” Marie asked. “Don’t act as if you care about Sander” Sven snapped. “I came as soon as I heard it” she replied, “Nobody deserves to be beaten up by their boyfriend”. “My son did not beat up his boyfriend” Louis said firmly. “Who destroyed your marriage?” Marie questioned, “You’re blind because you’re his father but that cute face hides…”. She was interrupted by Sven who now shouted “Get out serpent!”. All Robbe and Sander’s friends were in complete shock by the drama that they had just witnessed. 

11:48

Public opinion was split between those who saw Britt’s story as pure lies and those who believed that Robbe had abused Sander. Social media had exploded with tens of thousands of tweets and comments… 

“Where are the boys?” Isabelle asked as soon as she walked in. Sander’s parents had heard Britt’s lies too and they had immediately come over. “They’re together in their bedroom… The news hit hard… I think they’ve calmed down a bit since… I don’t think we should disturb them yet… Nothing works better to console their pain than being together…” Sven explained. “I agree” Charles said, “Let the boys be alone… together…” he said while putting his hand on his wife’s shoulder to comfort her. Isabelle turned towards her husband and said: “I know… But I just want to make sure that Sander is OK…”. “I understand… But I can assure you that he’s fine. You know the magical effect they have on each other…” Sven said. 

14:39

Mr. Defossez, the King’s lawyer, arrived at court. He met with Sven, Robbe and Sander in Sven’s office. “I have studied the interview with Ms. Ingelbrecht. I am sorry but I have to ask you, have you ever hit or physically abused Sander?” Mr. Defossez asked. “Never!” Robbe said forcefully, “I could never do that. Sander means everything to me. I love him wholeheartedly”. Sander confirmed: “No, Robbe has never hurt me and he never will... He’s my little angel… He’s kindness and goodness in person…”. “Than her claim that you abused him classifies as defamation” Mr. Defossez stated. “I think that his majesty is more interested in stopping the publication of her book than suing her over this interview…” Sven said. “Yes!” Robbe said, “Sander has a right to his privacy. I don’t want that Britt reveals everything about their relationship, including their sex life, in a book for everyone to read… And worse still, who knows how many lies or hyperbole this book might contain…”. “Publishing a book full of personal details about a person without that person’s consent is a violation of the privacy laws. We can definitely ask a judge to ban the sale of the book… In fact, we can contact her publisher today with a letter asking to not publish the book. I am sure the publisher will be compliant as they know we will win any court case” Mr. Defossez explained. “Ok, send that letter today” Robbe said. 

16:00

It had been decided that the best way to deal with this crisis was to be brutally honest and reveal the full truth about that night to the world. So a press conference had been called in which Robbe’s friends would tell the story… The surprising choice to not have Robbe and Sander explain was made for two chief reasons. First, it was still very painful to the two boys to think back to that night. And secondly, having witnesses tell the story would be more convincing. Of course, Sven made sure to check with everyone, stressing that nobody was forced to go on television to explain their recollection of the events. But all of Robbe and Sander’s friends insisted on doing it. 

Zoë took the word first. She explained how she had found Robbe that morning in the bathroom. His body covered in bruises. She explained how Robbe, who hadn’t come out to her yet at that point, said he had found himself by accident in the middle of a riot… Her testimony proved that it was not only Sander who got beaten up. 

Next, Milan took the word. He explained how Robbe had told him the truth about what had happened that night. He couldn’t restrain himself and left out tears as he explained how Robbe had confessed to him how he and sander had become victims of gay bashing. “Robbe… He… He would rather die than hurting Sander” Milan said with a trembling voice. 

Following Milan, Moyo took the word. He explained how Sander had taken Robbe back to the café on July 17th. He, Jens, Aaron, and Senne had to join as physical and emotional bodyguards for Robbe to make him feel safe enough at that place…

Subsequently, Mia Van Opdenbosch spoke. “I’ve known Sander since the second year of high school and later we both studied at the Antwerp Academy. Meeting Robbe has changed him. I’ve never seen him as happy as since he’s with Robbe”. 

Finally, it was Sander’s mother who took the word. She explained how happy Robbe had made her son and that she trusted Robbe 100%. “Robbe would never, ever hurt my son!” she said forcefully. 

19:53

Philippe Hugot, the director of the General Directorate for Internal Security walked in proudly. “Sire, we’ve got her!” he exclaimed. “We checked Britt’s financial records and all looks like those of an ordinary 17 year old… At least until yesterday. Then she naively walked into the bank carrying a suitcase of money… 1.2 million euro to be precise.” Philippe explained. “I guess we can safely assume that she didn’t earn that through a student job…” he joked. “Fantastic job!” Sven said, “Leaves the question who paid her… While the magazine greatly benefited from such controversy I highly doubt they pay that money to their sources… And not in cash as they don’t have to hide anything…”. “Indeed, your highness. It is also my belief that someone paid her to tell lies to the journalist” Philippe replied. 

21:18

Everyone was sitting together in the drawing room when Robbe spoke. “Today’s circumstance should not stop us. Let’s end this year in a big celebration! Come!” he shouted. Everyone followed Robbe to the Hall of Festivities that had been prepared for a big party. A bar had been installed, spots and disco lights illuminated the dance floor, and a music installation had been set up for the DJ. Everyone got a drink and within minutes the party got started… 

Jens hit the dance floor with Mia. Mia was a short girl with wavy half long brown hair. She wore a short azure blue dress and matching blue, high heeled shoes. Even her nails were decorated with blue nail polish. Her neck was decorated by a delicate necklace with an infinity sign pendant. Jens clearly was hitting on her but the feeling didn’t seem reciprocal as only a few minutes later she excused herself. 

Sander had noticed Jens’ interest in Mia and after she left Jens, he walked up to him from behind. He placed his hand on Jens shoulder who in surprise turned around. “Mia is lovely, right?” Sander said with a smile. “You’ve noticed” Jens said slightly embarrassed. “Yes, but I am afraid that Mia is more into girls” Sander clarified. “Ah…” Jens sighed.

As the bar was almost exclusively filled with alcoholic beverages such a beer, champagne, white wine, vodka, whiskey, gin-tonic,… Senne had thoughtfully brought a bottle of ice tea with him for Zoë. After a drink the love couple also hit the dance floor… 

“How are you?” Yasmina asked surprising Robbe. He had been sitting at the bar thinking back to all that had happened today. “I am OK” he said. “No, you don’t have to lie. I know you still feel sad… But look… I’ve checked Twitter and things have changed. Virtually everyone is now on your side” Yasmina said. Robbe smiled. “Thank you” he said. “Come!” Yasmina said and she took his hand and led Robbe to the dance floor. 

“Seems we’re the only single ones…” Moyo said to Luca, “Care to dance with me?”. “You wish!” Luca fired back before she grabbed the hand of David De Clercq and took him to the dance floor. David was a friend of Sander from the Antwerp Academy. He was a tall guy with short black hair and a stubble beard. He wore a black hoody, ripped denim pants, and white sneakers. He looked a bit like a bad guy but looks can deceive and in reality he was a real softy. 

22:11

Suddenly out of nowhere a loud voice screamed: “Jean is in da house!!!”. A skinny boy with blond hair and a boyish face had walked into the room accompanied by a tall extremely beautiful girl. She was the famous actress and fashion model Melanie Malin, the latest in a string of over a dozen girlfriends of prince Jean, the 16 year old son of princess Louise. After the death of his father two years ago Jean had inherited the title of count of Soissons as well as the majority share of his father’s considerable fortune. But his father’s death also changed him and he had become ever more rebellious, often attracting the attention of the gossip press, but his latest incident a few weeks ago had been the straw that broke the camel's back… The paparazzi had succeeded in taking pictures of him passed out from the liquor and drugs on a yacht in the Caribbean surrounded by several girls. His mother had decided that from January onward she would sent him to boarding school… She had also become increasingly concerned about his future financial security after the 16 year old had spend over a million euro last year… He would go out multiple nights a week and generally be offering multiple rounds for the house when he walked into clubs…

23:59

The DJ counted down in his micro: “Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One… Happy New Year!!!” At exactly midnight, confetti fell down from the ceiling, showering all the partygoers in specks of gold, red, and blue. 

“Happy New Year Robin!” Sander said. “Happy New Year my prince” Robbe replied before kissing his boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around Sander. He still couldn’t believe that Sander was his. Sometimes he was still afraid that he would wake up and find that it was all just a dream. The best dream ever… Those moments he clamped himself to his boyfriend. Sander had started to call Robbe his baby koala because of this behaviour. Not that Sander complained… He loves it when Robbe acts like this. 

**Friday January 1st, 2021**

02:49

Robbe and Sander were kissing on the dance floor. They were so absorbed into each other that neither boy noticed what happened just a meter away from them… Jens was dancing with Lucas, the nephew of Willem III, and suddenly the two boys started to kiss. But not everyone was blind to what was happening. Moyo was standing at the bar looking at the dance floor to see if he could find a girl to dance with when he saw Jens kissing with an unknown boy. “WTFock!” Moyo laughed.


	24. Deputy Director Eric Goodwin

**Sunday January 3rd, 2021**

05:14

In the early hours of the morning a Boeing 757-200 from the US Air Force landed on Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. On board, the Deputy Director of the CIA, Eric Goodwin. The Deputy Director of the CIA did not pass through normal airport security or customs but instead he got inside a black SUV that was standing ready on the runway and left the airport. His car was escorted by two other SUVs carrying his protection detail from the US Diplomatic Security Service. 

05:46

The Deputy Director of the CIA arrived at the Élysée Palace and was quickly escorted in through a back entrance away from prying eyes to the underground Jupiter Command Post. The meeting took place in this underground bunker on the request of Eric Goodwin as he wanted to talk in an environment that was totally secure from electronic eavesdropping. The extraordinary anti-surveillance precautions were needed as he was going to reveal some ultra-sensitive material. He had to ask the US President for special permission to disclose this information to Robbe. The secrecy was also the reason why this meeting happened so early in the morning. According to Robbe’s official agenda he was still in bed and even his personal secretary, Willem III, was blissfully unaware of this meeting.

06:01

“Your majesty… Regent…” Eric Goodwin greeted the boys. The only people present during this meeting were Robbe, Sven, Sander, and Jean-Philippe Hugot, the director of the General Directorate for Internal Security (GDSI). Eric Goodwin had first forcefully protested the presence of Sander, who was not a French official, but Sven had reassured him that the French government completely trusted Sander and that he had the highest level of security clearance. When he’s married to the King he will occupy a position similar to that of Vice-President in the US. Robbe had insisted that Sander would not end up in just some kind of ceremonial position where he was not allowed to say anything and just had to observe and cut ribbons… As a child he had experienced the unhappiness of the prince-consort of the UK with his position during his vacations at Balmoral castle. For example, he was not allowed to give his children his name something he complained about in private: “I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children”. 

“As you know the US has a vast and extensive intelligence apparatus…” Eric Goodwin started, “Through various sources, which I cannot disclose to protect our undercover assets, we have picked up chatter indicating the existence of a conspiracy aimed at committing a coup d’état against the French state”. “The terrorist hijacking of flight 1719, and even the magazine interview with Britt are in our opinion part of a coordinated strategy to weaken his majesty and the French state. Deep investigation of shady financial transactions has uncovered tens of millions of euros being moved around to bribe people and finance the insurgency against his majesty. For example, the hijackers of flight 1719 seemed to have been less inspired by religious motives and more by hard cash as each one received between €500.000 and €1.35 million. And at least €8 million has been spend on the creation and distribution of fake news concerning the French government on social media…”. While talking, Mr. Goodwin took out multiple papers with details on all the financial transactions that the CIA had intercepted. “Do we know where the money is coming from? Who is financing these operations?” Sven asked. “Our financial data analysts are working around the clock to try to uncover the money flows… But it’s hard as whoever is behind this has taken extraordinary precaution measures to hide his identity… Money is going through lots of shady paper companies located in untransparent jurisdictions…” Mr. Goodwin explained. 

“There’s more…” Eric Goodwin said, “We’ve noticed unusual travel patterns…”. “Unusual travel patterns?” Robbe asked. “For example, the minister of defence of Russia was in Paris on December 21st. You can check but according to our intel he didn’t meet any French officials for official business” Eric said. “Maybe he just came for tourism? To shop?” Robbe asked. “Why did he then do all the effort of coming here under a fake identity?” Eric asked. “And there’s even more… At exactly the same moment the minister of justice of Italy was also in Paris. He too did, according to our intel, not come for official business. What’s more, he flew to Belgium and rented a car there to drive all the way here…” Eric said, “It is our belief that these two ministers and maybe others had a secret meeting here in Paris. It follows that it seems likely that one or more French must have been at that meeting. Otherwise they could have organized it somewhere else…”.

“And maybe the most damning evidence we have is a recording of a phone call in which the caller discussed the overthrowing of the French state…” Mr. Goodwin said. “Well… I am sure there are many such calls… Or look at the online comments on news articles…” Sven said. “True, but those calls are usually not encrypted and do not happen with satellite phones through a Chinese military satellite…” Mr. Goodwin replied. “I see… But how can you know…” Sven asked. “The encryption used was not the most secure one, so the NSA succeeded in breaking it…” Mr. Goodwin said. “Here’s the decrypted recording of the phone call” Mr. Goodwin said while putting a flash drive on the table. “Do you know the identity of the callers?” Robbe asked. “No, the callers used voice altering software to hide their identities… All we know about this call is summarized in this report” Mr. Goodwin said while handing everyone a piece of paper. Everyone immediately saw that the CIA was not playing full open card with them as several parts of the report had been blacked out. 

“But, who would be behind such a coup?” Robbe asked. Before anyone else could respond, the King had himself a revelation: “Marie! Yeah, she is it, isn’t it?”. “We were thinking the same… But we have NO proof for her involvement, at this moment” Mr. Goodwin replied. “This is very troubling information” Sven concluded. “We want to thank the American government for sharing this information with us” Sven said to Mr. Goodwin before ending the meeting. 

After Mr. Goodwin was gone Sven said: “He lied to us…”. “About?” Robbe asked. “He said the callers used low level encryption… Which doesn’t match the other precautions like the use of a military satellite phone and voice altering software. Furthermore, he made a mistake… For a brief moment, as he was looking through his folder for the censored report that he gave us, I saw for a brief time the uncensored version in his folder… The encryption software used was top-notch…” Sven explained. “Meaning?” Robbe inquired. “That the NSA has much more advanced decryption abilities than we had suspected so far… So, maybe even our communication might be susceptible to be decrypted by the NSA…” Jean-Philippe explained. Sven gave Jean-Philippe the specifics of the encryption software and he immediately set off to the GDSI headquarters to discuss the matter with the cryptographers… 

07:09

The boys had sneaked back to their bedroom and into bed. Sander was laying with his head on Robbe’s chest while Robbe was playing with his boyfriends hair. Sander was listening to Robbe’s heartbeat, the most beautiful sound in the world. Sander lifted his head and looked into Robbe’s eyes. Sparks of love shot from his eyes. Robbe grabbed Sander around the chest and pulled him up so that he could kiss his boyfriend. Their lips touched and Robbe quickly said “I love you” before French kissing Sander. Sander broke the kiss and said: “Would you like to go and shower?”. “Hmmm, don’t know… I am still a bit tired” Robbe said. “Oh, ok” Sander said trying to hide his disappointment. Robbe chuckled… “You…” Sander said as he realized that his boyfriend was really starting to take over his sense of humour… 

A few moments later the boys were in the bathroom. Sander quickly removed his boxer short while Robbe stood there admiring the body of his boyfriend… Sander looked like those ancient Greek statutes of nude gods with perfect bodies. A beautifully toned body but not excessively muscular. Just perfect. He looked divine… “Come…” Sander said bringing Robbe out of his trance. Robbe removed his boxer briefs and got with Sander in the shower. Warm water drizzled on the boys naked bodies while they kept kissing passionately. Sander broke the kiss and went down… He kissed Robbe’s neck, his collarbone, his nipples, his belly, his thighs,… Robbe started to moan… “OMG” Robbe thought, he was feeling in heaven… A wave of total bliss travelled through his body… He started to move his hands through Sander’s wet hair…

08:13

After a mind-blowing shower it was time for breakfast, and Sunday meant ‘croque time’. The boys arrived a bit late in the dining room. “Finally” Isabelle said, “The croques are almost cold. You overslept again?”. Robbe started to blush… The shower had indeed lasted longer than planned… “Sorry, it was a busy week and I was very tired…” Robbe lied. The boys quickly sat down and the whole family started to eat. Robbe placed his hand on Sander’s thigh, underneath the table. A smile appeared on Sander’s face. The two boys really couldn’t stop touching each other all the time… It was their way of telling each other where words lacked to describe their feelings… 

13:19

Robbe was having a meeting with Madeleine Thibault, Minister of Foreign Affairs, about his upcoming trade mission to Silicon Valley. Madeleine had become a trusted friend of Robbe. She was 43 years old and Robbe viewed her a bit as his ‘second mom’. She had mentored Robbe since he became King of France. He greatly valued her advice and hence often consulted her on matters outside of foreign affairs. 

Sander walked in. He walked up to Robbe and immediately wrapped his arms around his precious angel. Instantaneously, a smile appeared on Robbe’s face. “Hi Sander” Madeleine said. “Hi Madeleine” Sander replied. “I am discussing our trip to California with Madeleine” Robbe clarified. “Oh nice, I am looking forward to it” Sander said, “I’ve never been to California… We should visit the gay neighbourhoods of San Francisco…”. Robbe smiled, he was looking forward to his first foreign trip with Sander as well. “And, we should also visit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art!” Sander exclaimed. “Well… I am there for work… So, if we have time in between…” Robbe apologized. “Then we take an extra day there” Sander replied naughtily. “If possible…” Robbe replied. “I am sure we can make some room in the schedule for cultural activities” Ms. Thibault suggested to the delight of the two boys.


	25. Ghosts from the past return…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short chapter this time… Brace yourselves for the storm that is about to be unleashed in the chapters to come…

**Wednesday January 6th, 2021**

8:42

Suddenly, without a knock, the door of Sven’s office opened. Sven looked up surprised to see a furious Robbe in front of him. “Why are you trying to fock it up between me and Sander???” Robbe yelled. “Sorry, but I have no clue what you’re talking about?” Sven said. “This!!!” Robbe yelled while pushing his phone in front of Sven’s face. It displayed the front page of today’s news. The headline said: “Sander: rebel or criminal?” “He told you about the police incident, didn’t he? When you talked to him about revealing all details of his past…” Robbe said. “I swear, I did not release any information to the media! You must believe me. It was not me. I would never do that to you or Sander” Sven said firmly. “Then why does the newspaper write that they got the news from a source within the Royal family… Outside of you and his parents nobody knew… And I don’t think his parents release this story…” Robbe stated. “I don’t know why the newspaper says that… But really, I swear it wasn’t me.” Sven said. Robbe didn’t seem to believe him and walked out, violently slamming the door behind him. 

Very atypically, the normally always controlled and calm Sven started to cry. His head fell on his desk and he stayed there for several minutes but it felt like hours… After regaining his calm, he looked up the newspaper on his computer and started to read. He couldn’t believe his eyes. While, some facts were indeed true such as the fact that the police busted Sander spraying and arrested him. The story did not mention even the existence of Sander’s Congolese friend. Rather, the story stated that after being busted and given a fine for spraying Sander got angry and started to insult the police and as a consequence was arrested. 

15:46

Robbe and Sander had still not left the bedroom and they had refused any food brought to them… 

Sven went to check up on the boys. Robbe was laying with his head on Sander’s shoulder while his right arm rested on Sander’s chest. The boys seemed to have calmed down… “Robbe, I swear, it wasn’t me” Sven said. “I believe him” Sander told Robbe. “I know… I’m sorry… I know you didn’t…” Robbe said. Sven walked over and said “come here” while opening his arms. Robbe stood up and hugged Sven. “I understand… I would have reacted the same… No need to apologize…” Sven said. 

20:22

Sven had a meeting to discuss the response to the Sander crisis. Robbe’s Chief of Staff Elisabeth of the Palatinate strongly advised that a press conference should be called to tell the true story of what happened that night. The Press Secretary agreed that the truth should be told but pointed out that they had no evidence to support that story. “Sander’s Congolese friend will have to step forward…” Sven said, “Sander will talk to him but he already indicated that it won’t be easy as his friend also refused to file a complaint after the incident despite Sander’s best efforts to convince him…”. “And if he doesn’t…?” Elisabeth asked. “Well, there’s no doubt that, that would be a severe PR disaster. This would weaken our support in parliament and could jeopardize our ability to have important reform bills passed through parliament such as our pension plan…” Sven said. “At the moment the Belgian Public Prosecutor Office has not yet responded to these allegations but if we get a response it will confirm what is in the media as the agents filled a falsified report of the events in which they did not mention their own racist behaviour. Hence, we must assume that a lot of people will believe that Sander is guilty…” Sven explained.  


Sven called Jean-Philippe Hugot, the director of the General Directorate for Internal Security and asked to see if his agency could find any evidence to support Sander’s version of the story. But it would be hard as the incident happened about one and a half years ago. On Friday 23rd of August 2019, to be precise. Security videos from where the incident happened will already have been deleted... Any potential witnesses are likely to have forgotten about it or will at least struggle to remember the specific details… 

22:07

Sander had talked for over an hour with his Congolese friend but his friend refused. In his opinion without hard evidence nobody would belief him. He was afraid that accusing the police of racism and physical violence against him without hard evidence would make him a target of further hate campaigns. 

After ending his phone call Sander had gone to sit against the wall of his art studio and started crying… Robbe walked over and hugged his boyfriend. “I’m toxic. You would be better off without me” Sander said. “Noooo… Don’t say that!” Robbe said while wrapping his arms more firmly around Sander as if he was trying to hold on and prevent Sander from disappearing from his life. Robbe couldn’t imagine a life without Sander. Whenever he tried to imagine his life without Sander it felt like falling inside a black hole where he would be trapped forever, unable to escape, in total darkness. Robbe tried to calm himself down. He knew that Sander didn’t mean what he said. He was not going to leave Robbe. He was currently just in a depressed episode and Robbe had to do what he had done several times before… Just be there and support his boyfriend. Make Sander feel safe and loved. “Sander, we will find a way to prove your innocence” Robbe said. Robbe took Sander’s hand and got up. “Come…” he said. 

A few moments later the boys were together in bed. Robbe was spooning Sander, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend. He gave a soft kiss in Sander’s neck followed by whispering “I love you” in his ear. 

22:41

Twenty minutes later Sander seemed to have calmed down. Robbe always had that effect on him… His angel had again battled and defeated the demons in his head. Sander slowly started to drift asleep…

**Thursday January 7th, 2021**

08:45

The Minister of Justice demanded that the King would end his engagement with Sander. “The French King should not marry a criminal” he said. Robbe was furious and asked Sven to give the Minister his resignation. “No, I won’t” Sven answered, “I do understand that you’re angry but firing your minister is not going to help. In fact, it’s going to make things worse as it will antagonize parliament and the people.”

Robbe got even more depressed when he saw today’s headline in the newspaper: “Experiment with 17 year old King is failure!”. The article read: “Bring back sanity and replace this pubescent boy with an adult responsible king”. According to the author of the article his dad Louis and Marie would make the ideal King and Queen of France. His dad ok, but Marie… She was one of the nastiest people that Robbe had ever met. How could any sane person think that she would be an ideal Queen? The thought of it make him sick…

09:52

Louis came to see his son. “Sire, I ask you to end your relationship with Sander” he said. Robbe couldn’t believe his ears. Now his own father had turned against him. “Some, such as my fiancée Marie, already suggest that you should abdicate over this affair but I have no intension of getting back on the throne. So, to save your throne you should end your relationship” he explained. “I will choose Sander over the throne each and every day!” Robbe replied in a rage. “You’ve dumped this throne, against my will, on me! If you had done your duty we would not be in this situation today!” Robbe said before walking out.


	26. Game of thrones

**Thursday January 7th, 2021**

11:22

Sven had invited the whole of Robbe’s family to come over and stay at court until Sunday. He said that he hoped that this would help to tighten the family bounds. 

However, Sven had not expected that Louis-Phillippe, prince of Conti would also come. He had been living in the United States for over a quarter century where he worked as an executive in a major company. After Sven, he was next in line for the French throne. He was a brilliant man, who had graduated summa cum laude from Harvard business school at the age of just 19. He was the reining US chess champion, had published three books, spoke seven languages fluently and was proficient in another five. He had started his own IT company while still in university and had earned his first millions by selling this company at the age of 21. Now, aged 44 he had amassed a personal fortune of over $700 million and was leading several successful companies. 

13:03 

Princess Louise, Countess of Soissons arrived with her 16 year old son Prince Jean. She was a member of the French parliament and a very influential politician. She was known as the “shadow president” of the party to which she belonged. This was because, while she was not the president of the party, she always succeeded to push her will through the party leadership. She herself had no claim to the throne as she was not a descendant of the French royal family, her late husband was. That placed her son on the third place for the throne after Sven and Louis-Philippe. Prince Louis-Philippe had taken the US nationality, making him, in her eyes, unsuited for the French throne. That only left Robbe and Sven to be pushed aside… 

“The vultures have arrived” Sven thought as he saw the arrival of Louis-Philippe, Louise, and Jean. They were all after the French throne, as was Marie… She hoped to do something that had never been done before, return the throne to the previous King, which she, of course, hoped to marry. Thereby placing herself on the throne as Queen of France. 

15:24

Robbe received a call from Noor. “Hey Noor” Robbe said. “Hi Robbe” Noor replied, “I have to tell you something…”. “A few weeks before the start of previous academic year, before I had met Sander, I was out spraying when I saw the police abusing two boys. I never realized it was Sander until I saw the news this morning…” Noor said. “Would you like to testify about what you saw?” Robbe asked. “Yes, sure. But I have something even better…” Noor said. “What?” Robbe asked. “When I saw that incident, I made sure I hid myself so that the police wouldn’t see me. After all I was also spraying… Then I recorded the whole event with my phone… I even wrote a blog post about this incident but I never shared the footage…” she said. Robbe was delighted with this news. “And would you… be willing to give me a copy of that video?” Robbe asked. “Of course Robbe” Noor said, “It’s time that those police officers get punished for what they did”.  


Robbe went to Sven and Sander to tell them the good news. Sander immediately called his Congolese friend back to inform him that they actually had hard evidence against the police officers while Sven called Jean-Philippe Hugot. “I also have good news, regent” Jean-Philippe replied, “We did a thorough background check on those police officers and we found many instances of racist behaviour such as Facebook comments. One of them also is a member of a Fascist forum where he posts really extreme stuff”. “Send me all the evidence. We’ll have a press conference later this evening” Sven asked. 

18:12

The whole family had assembled for an uncomfortable family dinner. The King, Sander, Sven, Charlotte, Louis, Marie, Isabelle, Charles, Louis-Philippe, Louise, and Jean were all sitting around the table. “The pension plan is working perfectly” Sven said, “It’s very early to tell but it seems that less people retire”. “The state is still bankrupt. What will the King do about that?” Louise stated. “We’re working on it but of course such financial troubles cannot be solved overnight. We’re working on a financial recovery plan that hopefully allow us to balance the budget in five years from now” Sven explained. “Five years is an eternity” Jean replied. “No, five years is a reasonable…” Sven tried to reply but was interrupted by Louise who said “My son’s right, five years is unacceptably long. Maybe if our leadership would take the French finances more seriously and spent less time having sex…”. 

“Madam!” Sven said in indignation. “I’ve heard the stories” she snapped back. “What would you think if we discussed your sex life here at the dinner table?” Sander said annoyed. “Do what you want” she said, “You see, I don’t have a sex life. My husband died two years ago and I have been a widow without any sexual contacts since. I really find that it opens up time to spend on productive affairs like running the country”. “Luckily you are not the Queen of France” Louis-Phillipe said, “Such indiscretion would tarnish the reputation of the monarchy”. “Oh, but I have heard stories from your dorm days at Harvard… You’re not the most reserved person either…” Louise replied. “Mum” Jean said being embarrassed to have to listen to his mother. 

“Madam, you shouldn’t act so prudish” Marie stated, “Or how does a girl from your background seduce and marry the count of Soissons?” “How did you seduce Louis?” Louise asked. “I am a countess, Madam. You were a commoner. All you had to seduce him was your body…” Marie said. “And you’ve never used your body and money, Madam?” Louis-Philippe responded. “ENOUGH” Robbe yelled, “I want to eat peacefully and everyone who feels the need to insult others around this table can leave now”.  


Sander now understood why Robbe thought of him, his mother, Sander’s parents, and Sven as his family while ignoring his other blood relatives. 

20:00

The journalists had assembled for the official statement of the French government on the ‘Sander incident’. With all the physical evidence against the officers in hand, Sander’s friend felt confident enough to give his version of the events through video call. This was followed by showing the journalists Noor’s video and blog post. Finally, the online hate messages from the officers were displayed on the screen. 

After all the evidence was shown Sven took the word: “Good evening everyone. Police officers have an exemplary role. They should be honest and integer. They should uphold the law and they should not discriminate based on race, gender, sexuality,.. These officers were none of that… They are racists who lied to cover up their own crime. Therefore, earlier today I sent all the evidence to the Belgian public prosecutor and in a phone call thereafter he ensured me that a criminal investigation into the incident will be launched. He also forwarded the evidence to the Comité P, the external oversight commission of the Belgian police. Thank you and goodnight to all!”.

**Friday January 8th, 2021**

08:46

Starweek magazine’s headline read: “The Queen France doesn’t deserve: an exclusive interview with former and current employees of Marie” The article was damning about Marie as a person. She was described as a tyrant who insulted and abused the people who worked for her. She demanded absolute perfection and punctuality often raging against employees who dared to be one minute late. One person described how he saw that Marie slapped the CFO of her company in the face after he had failed to secure a deal. A former classmate said that Marie had sex with several of her professors at university in return for good grades.

But the big shock came from ‘Le Fameux’ magazine they had managed to have an exclusive interview with Marie’s brother. In the interview he stated “I have been afraid of my sister since she was six years old”. The journalist had asked what he meant by that. “When I was six years old I had taken one of her pencils to make a drawing… When she noticed that I was using one of her pencils without asking for it she got furious and started to rip up and smash all my toys.” he explained, “She had always had a God complex. Part because of how she was absolutely pampered by our parents”. 

Marie was beyond herself when seeing these two articles. She had pretty much smashed up half of her bedroom furniture in anger. 

10:33

Sven informed Robbe that earlier this morning the Italian Prime Minister had died. Probably as the result of a bleeding stroke. Robbe called the widow of the PM to offer his condolences. 

11:19 

Rumours soon started to spread at court that Princess Louise had had an affair with her gardener Mr. Olivier and that Prince Jean may be an illegitimate child, hence couldn’t become King. Everyone knew that it must be either Louis-Philippe or Marie who was spreading these rumours. 

Marie was walking in the garden to help her relax. She was still boiling inside from that article in Starweek magazine when she spotted princess Louise sitting on a bench. “Also enjoying a bit of fresh air, Madam?” Marie said. “Yes, I guess you can use some too after that article…” Louis said. “Well, at least I don’t sleep with my gardener” Marie replied. “No, just with your professors” Louise responded. “Those are complete lies that are deliberately spread to tarnish my reputation” Marie said. “Well, the rumours about me and the gardener are lies too” Louise replied, “I will gladly do a DNA paternity test to prove the legitimacy of prince Jean”. “Don’t say that too loud or people may take your word for it, Madam” Marie replied with a smile. “Of course, you believe those nasty lies. I know the truth and that is that those are nothing but revolting lies. Jean is the son of me and my late husband”. “If you say so, Madam” Marie responded. 

14:10

Robbe received a ping on his phone. It was Jens who had messaged him.

Jens: [Just got an anonymous email from someone promising to give me €1 million if I share dirt about you or Sander with them. Be sure, I will never betray my best friend!] 

20:04

On TV the popular talk show “Max reports” started. News flashes during the day had alerted that some big breaking news would be aired during this evening’s show so everyone was watching. “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to today’s ‘Max reports’ with your host Max Alexandre. Today we have an exclusive first. Bella, the cleaning lady who has worked for over ten years for Princess Louise is going to provide an insight into the private life of the princess. Did she have a relationship with Mr. Olivier, as the rumours say? You’ll find out tonight on Max reports”. 

“Welcome Bella” Max said, “So you worked for Princess Louise for over ten years. How is she as an employer?” “Demanding” Bella said, “She’s nice but she demands perfection. Like if she spots some dust or something that is not perfectly located… She will let you know her displeasure”. “I see, I’ve also heard that she often gives parties at her house…” Max said. “That’s true, they can get quite wild judging by how I find the place in the morning…” Bella said. “How do you mean?” Max asked. “Well bottles and food scattered everywhere… But also sometimes clothing… Including underwear…” Bella said. “So, you’re saying that those parties involve more than drinking and playing poker?” Max asked. “A lot more… One morning I arrived and Madam was still sleeping naked in the sofa with two naked guys…” Bella said. “They’ve had sex” Max asked. “I don’t know that but if one is sleeping naked together…” Bella responded. “And are the rumours about her gardener Mr. Olivier true?” Max asked. “Yes… I’ve seen them together… In the heat of passion…” Bella said. “Oh wow, that’s an exclusive” Max said, “Tell us more”. “Well, Mr. Olivier is a 20 year old college student who works as a gardener to earn some money to pay his studies… And Madam rewards him generously for the services that he provides…” Bella said. “You mean that Princess Louise pays Mr. Olivier for sex?” Max asked. “I don’t know that… But it’s not common to give your gardener a Mercedes as a birthday present…” Bella said. “And did she have men over while her husband was still alive?” Max asked. “Well I haven’t caught her in the act… But when her husband was away for business she often had other men staying over… They would sleep in another room, or so they tried to make me believe. In the morning when I arrived they were indeed in their room but when I changed the bed I couldn’t escape to notice that it didn’t seem like they had slept in it. It seemed like they just messed up the sheets to make it look like they had slept in their beds…” Bella explained. 

“And is Prince Jean behaving similarly to his mother?” Max asked. “Certainly, I’ve not seen him go with the same boy or girl twice to his bedroom…” Bella said. “He’s also known to do drugs. Have you seen that as well?” Max asked. “You can’t miss that if you enter his bedroom… There’s often cocaine on his nightstand. Sometimes also pills… I often find him still passed out in the morning from the alcohol and drugs…” Bella explained. 

20:48

“Can I talk the both of you for a moment in private?” Sven asked Robbe and Marie. “Look, Louis is going to marry Marie and hence she will become your stepmother… You will need to learn to co-exist together… Maybe, you should stay over at Louis and Marie for a few days to forge a bound…” Sven explained. “No!” Robbe said angrily, “She has consistently bullied me! I hate her”. Robbe walked out and he slammed the door behind him. “Robbe…!” Sven yelled and he ran behind Robbe.

**Saturday January 9th, 2021**

08:07

The boys were having breakfast when Willem III came in looking extremely worried. “What is it?” Robbe asked. “Huh… I was going through the news this morning…” Willem III said with a trembling voice. “Yes, and?” Robbe asked. Willem III handed todays newspaper over to Robbe. The headline read: “Cover up of the King’s criminal history!”. To the complete surprise of Willem III, Robbe burst into laughing. What was wrong with Robbe? Willem III got even more surprised when he noticed the sneaky smile on Sander’s face. 

09:42

Marie arrived at Sven’s office. She had received a call with the clear instruction to come immediately. “Sit!” Sven instructed. As soon as she sat down he threw today’s newspaper in front of Marie. “You don’t think that I…” Marie said. “I don’t think… I know…” Sven said. “You know how I know?” Sven asked. Marie didn’t say anything. “Because I invented the story that Robbe got busted by the French police in the summer of 2018 with cocaine. The letter to the Chief Prosecutor of France asking to wipe away Robbe’s criminal record was fake. I put it on my desk just before I asked you and Robbe in yesterday for that conversation… Robbe walked out angrily and I ran behind him… Yes, that was acted. We left you in the office alone… When you came out, I went back and removed the fake letter. You’re the only person who has seen this fake evidence…” Sven said. 

“I… I didn’t…” Marie started. “No, I will tell you what will happen. You leaked a classified document to the media and hence you engaged in treason and espionage. You want to know the punishments for that?” Sven asked. Marie was visibly shaken and afraid at this point. “I am sorry… I never meant…” Marie tried again. “It’s you who paid Britt to say that Robbe had physically abused Sander, right. Two days before Britt deposited 1.2 million euro on her account you withdrew exactly 1.2 million euro from yours. Coincidence? I believe not… It’s also you who spread the manipulated story about Sander’s arrest, isn’t it?” Sven continued. 

“I never meant…” Marie started. “Save me the fake regrets” Sven said, “You’re going to end your relationship with Louis and disappear from our lives. If you ever show up again I will press charges against you. Do you understand?”. “But I love Louis…” Marie wept. “You’re incapable of love” Sven replied dryly, “There’s the door”. 

20:14

The boys, Sven, and Willem III were playing poker together. “How did you know it was Marie?” Willem III asked. “We suspected that the source of these partially right, partially lied stories was within the Royal family because first the intimate knowledge of real events that happened before Robbe became king and secondly the fact that they had the most to gain from it. Therefore, I’ve invited the whole family to stay over. Me and Robbe met each family member in private in my office and every time both me and Robbe left the office for some reason. Either someone came to tell us something classified, or in Marie’s case we faked an argument. The result was that each family member was left alone in my office for several minutes. On my desk was always a piece of paper, partially visible but not too obviously positioned, that contained some fake damning evidence against Robbe. The content of that letter was always different, so in that way we knew who had leaked” Sven explained. “That’s brilliant” Willem III said impressed. 

**Sunday January 10th, 2021**

08:18

The main headline of today’s newspaper was: “Louis-Philippe dumped girlfriend after finding out she was pregnant”. The story read that during his time at Harvard he had been in a relationship with a beautiful young athlete who studied psychology at Harvard. When he found out that she was pregnant he had dumped her and ignored any messages are calls that she made. She had to raise their son as a single mum without ever any help from Louis-Philippe, who was already wealthy at the time. 

10:41

Louis-Philippe was sitting in the library when Louise came to him. “I know that it was you who spread those rumours about Jean being an illegitimate child and now you have one yourself” she told him. “I’ve never spread those rumours. They might be true or not, I only say stuff I have evidence for. As for that American lady, she’s just a gold digger who has seen my name in the media and remembers me from Harvard and now thinks she can make me pay for the son she made with god know who” Louis-Philippe replied. “If it wasn’t you than who has spread those lies about me?” Louise asked, “Certainly not the King, the Regent, or Marie. I am not as much a threat to them as I am to you. You’re closer to the throne than me, so they will put their arrows at you first instead of me.” “Maybe that Sander guy” Louis-Philippe suggested. “Really, you expect me to believe that?” Louise asked in disbelief. “I think he sees all of us as a danger to his boyfriend and he’s taking action against all of us” Louis-Philippe suggested. “You’re so good at lying that you believe your own lies, Messieur” Louise replied, “Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be in the US leading your companies?” “I am here to offer moral support to his majesty who is having a difficult period. When my family needs me, I will be there for them” he stated. “Yeah, you were all this time far away in the US and now you suddenly reappear to help? I, I was here the whole time. I was working in Parliament to restore the monarchy. You, you just appeared at a time when the King was in a difficult time to try and steal his throne…” Louise snapped before turning around and walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter to boys are going to California!


	27. The trade mission

**Tuesday January 5th, 2021**

17:15

The Airbus A330-200 of the French Air Force landed in San Francisco International Airport. On board was the King, the regent, Sander, various officials, and dozens of French businessmen for a three day trade mission that centred around Silicon Valley. This was Robbe’s first official international mission and also his first time in the Golden State. Sander was equally excited about his first ever visit to California. As the two boys got out they were greeted by the Californian governor. “Welcome to California, your majesty” Mr. Dewitt said. “We’re very excited to visit your beautiful state, Mr. Dewitt” Robbe said. The two boys were escorted to a helicopter that would take them to the Historic Governor's Mansion of California in Sacramento. 

18:01

The helicopter landed at Sacramento International Airport where a black heavily armoured Cadillac, that the US Secret Service had provided, was waiting to bring the boys the last few kilometres to the Governors’ residence.

18:19

Inside the mansion the Governor introduced the King to the other guests. “Senator Jackson and Congresswoman Parker” Governor Dewitt said as he introduced Robbe to the other guests. “Senator… Congresswoman…” Robbe said as he gave them a hand. “Your majesty, it’s a privilege to welcome you to our state” the pair said. “Thank you, I am glad to be here in this beautiful state to improve the trade relations between our both nations” Robbe replied. “May I introduce you to the French Consul General Mr. Gasquet” Robbe said to the Governor. “Nice to meet you Consul” Mr. Dewitt said as he gave a hand to the Consul. 

Everyone was sitting around the table for the banquet.

Robbe started his speech: “Mr. Governor, distinguished guests! Good evening! Our both countries have a long shared history that started even before the independence of the United States. Today, the historical bound between our two nations remains as strong as ever. Together our two nations can face the challenges of a changing world and build a better future for all. It is therefore an extraordinary honour for me to be here. Our both countries share a rich and successful economic and trade relationship. This is evidenced by the fact that we are the 10 biggest export destination for goods from the United States, worth a total of $37.7 billion annually. Similarly, we export $57.5 billion of goods to the US each year. From all US states, California is one of our closest trade partners. Exports from California to France totalled $2.9 billion in 2019. The economic relations between our two nations are not limited to just trade. In 2018, the French invested $326 billion in the United States, making us the 6th biggest source of foreign investment and supporting over 730,000 jobs. More specifically, we were the 3rd biggest source of foreign investment in California providing almost 70,000 jobs. It is my sincere hope that in the next days we can further strengthen this relationship to the mutual interest of our both nations. I would like now to bring out a toast to our American friends”. 

**Wednesday January 6th, 2021**

07:03

Robbe woke up before his alarm due to his jetlag. He looked to his side and saw Sander sleeping peacefully. Immediately a smile developed on his face. It was such a cute sight to see Sander sleeping. Robbe gave a tender kiss on his boyfriends cheek, making sure not to wake Sander up. He checked his phone and noticed that his alarm was going to go off in less than half an hour so he decided to stay in bed and just watch Sander sleep. 

07:29

Robbe had turned off his alarm and decided to wake up Sander in his way. He first carefully started to stroke his hair with his fingers. His fingers moved down and he started to stroke Sander’s cheek… Sander’s skin felt so soft, like a piece of the finest silk. Next, he kissed Sander’s cheek. Still no reaction from Sander… The boy must still be in deep sleep Robbe thought. “Sander?” Robbe said. No response… “Sander… Time to wake up” Robbe said. Still no response… Robbe put his hand on Sander’s shoulder and shook his boy gently. Again, no response… “Sander????” Robbe said worryingly causing Sander to burst into laughing. “You were already awake… How long did you make fun of me???” Robbe asked. “I didn’t want you to stop doing what you were doing…” Sander said, “It’s so cute when you rub my hair, rub my cheek, and kiss me…”. “You…” Robbe said with a smile and he moved on top of Sander. Sander wrapped his arms around his boy while Robbe moved his head downwards until his lips touched those of Sander. The boys started to kiss passionately. It blew Robbe’s head… Sander made him feel things he had never before felt in his life. No matter how hard he tries, Robbe feels that he can never fully convey to Sander just how much the boy meant to him. No words existed to describe his feelings… 

08:47

Sander visited an innovative biotech company started by two French guys and a girl in Menlo Park. The company was trying to cure cystic fibrosis, an inborn lung disease, by repairing the mutation responsible for this disease with a base editor. He learned all about guide RNAs and dead Cas9. It was all complicated stuff but very interesting and with great potential to alleviate human suffering… Sander also met some patients suffering from this devastating disease. They told him just what a difference a cure would mean for them. How it would not only save their lives but would allow them, for the first time in their lives, to breath normally. One patient that Sander met was a 7 year old girl. After asking her permission, Sander drew a portrait of her which he gave her as a present. The girl was super excited and exclaimed that she wants to be able to draw as beautiful as him. 

Robbe visited several biotech companies and multiple tech companies. He was shown automatic driving cars, artificial intelligence powered search and rescue robots, he learned about smart contracts, he was shown a picture of a fictitious person generated by a generative adversarial network,… Robbe’s head was exploding from the information overload but he also realized the real world benefits that all these technologies were affording to society. 

20:01

Robbe had dinner with Sander in their hotel room. “I have something for you” Robbe said and he handed Sander a plastic bag. “Sorry, I had no time to wrap it in gift paper” Robbe said with a smile. Sander looked into the bag and took out a t-shirt. “A Bowie shirt” Sander said with a smile, “Thank you baby”. Robbe had seen the t-shirt in a shop window when driving by. He had ordered his driver to stop at once even though 20 CEOs of the largest tech companies of Silicon Valley were waiting for him. But Robbe didn’t care, he was going to buy that shirt for his boyfriend. Sander rubbed his boyfriend’s knee under the table causing a smile to appear on Robbe’s face. 

22:31

The two boys rolled over the bed giggling of enjoyment. They were both so happy to have each other. “I am holding you… And I never let you lose again” Robbe said while looking Sander deep in his eyes. Robbe meant it with all his heart. Sander couldn’t believe how lucky he had been to find Robbe… His personal angel… He kissed Robbe trying to convey all his love to his boyfriend. After a minute Robbe broke the kiss and whispered in Sander’s ear: “I need you… Take me…”. Sander’s warm hands glided over Robbe’s body causing a shiver of ecstasy to travel through Robbe’s body. He started to kiss Robbe’s collarbone before going down to his nipples. It tickled but felt so good. Robbe was burning from desire. It felt so good. Sander felt so good. Robbe was moaning non-stop as waves ecstasy to travel through his body. Sander came back up and kissed Robbe passionately on his mouth while their hands interlocked… Sander broke the kiss and he whispered in Robbe’s ear: “You’re my sunshine. The light that illuminates my existence…”. “My artist” Robbe said with a smile. 

That night Sander made Robbe see all the stars in the universe… 

**Thursday January 7th, 2021**

07:55

The boys were having breakfast. Sven was checking his emails when he suddenly froze. “What?” Robbe asked. “I just got an email from our Italian Ambassador. He received the still confidential results from the autopsy on the former Italian Prime Minister. He had high levels of warfarin and β-aminopropionitrile in his blood…” Sven explained. “Meaning?” Robbe questioned. “That he did indeed die from a bleeding stroke but not a natural one… He was poisoned…” Sven said. Robbe was shocked…

10:19

Before leaving California, there was one final thing on the boys agenda… A visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The museum had invited Robbe to open a temporally exhibit with works from the French artist Claude Monet. However, Robbe had refused and insisted that Sander should cut the ribbon. So, in front of the press, Sander took the scissor and cut the ribbon in the colours of the French flag while he said: “It’s an honour for me to be allowed to open this exhibition of our country’s most influential impressionist painter”. Next, the boys got a private tour through the museum but Sander didn’t need the guide… He had always been the primus of the class in art history.

14:38

The trade mission was over. Everyone was getting ready to leave when a knock happened on the King’s hotel room door. A guard opened up the door and five police offers stood outside. Sven’s attention was grasped by this and he immediately walked over to find out what was going on. Just a bit further in the hotel room Robbe and Sander were watching a Youtube movie together. “We’ve been informed that his Majesty and his boyfriend engaged in sexual activities despite his majesty being underaged in violation of California Penal Code § 261.5(a) aggravated by sodomy as defined in the California Penal Code § 286.1(b). As his Majesty is immune from the law we cannot do anything to him but we’re here to arrest Sander de Lorraine” the officer said. The officers tried to walk in but they were stopped by agents of the US Secret Service who were standing guard outside of the hotel room. Local police officers carrying weapons who had not undergone a background check were not allowed to come in the neighbourhood of their protectees. “We have a warrant” one of the agents said to the Secret Service Agents. “You know where you can put your warrant…” Sven said, “According to the 1969 Convention on Special Missions the private accommodation of representatives of the sending State are inviolable, article 30”. He slammed the door close. 

“This whole floor of the hotel is France” Sven instructed the GIGN bodyguards, “If any more police show up than arrest them”. Next, he threw some classified documents on the table. “So, if they now get in we can arrest them for espionage instead of just for violating diplomatic law. They got their fair warning…”. Sven was a brilliant strategist who knew exactly how to handle each situation. 

Robbe couldn’t believe what had just happened. The idea that Sander would get arrested and be put in prison for loving him was beyond absurd. It was as absurd as a fish swimming its way to the moon… That anyone, even someone who didn’t know them, could even dream of accusing Sander of abusing Robbe was beyond his comprehension. Sander was the sweetest, most caring person he had ever met. He spend a week apologizing just for making Robbe feel uncomfortable when he suggested to have cam sex during the corona lockdown… He had started to cry and Sander was trying to comfort his boyfriend by wrapping his arms around Robbe and offering his shoulder to cry on. 

Sven squatted in front of Robbe and Sander and said: “Don’t worry, we won’t let them arrest you. An attack on you is an attack on France”. 

Will Sander be arrested? If convicted he faces up to a year in prison… Find out in the next chapter…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trade data cited by Robbe: https://advocacy.calchamber.com/international/portals/france/


	28. The bear versus the fleur de lis

**Thursday January 7th, 2021**

16:53

Sven was pacing the room while thinking of a solution. He called the minister of the exterior and explained the situation. The minister of the exterior in his turn called all his colleagues and assembled an emergency session of cabinet. He also called the US ambassador to France to try to resolve the situation though diplomacy. Sven next called Jana’s mother who had since been appointed as French ambassador to the United Nations in New York. Everyone was in panic mode. They knew how this was an international incident that could severely harm the relations between the United States and France. Some nationalist fractions in the French National Assembly were already talking about the possibility of declaring war on the US… Not that they cared that much about Sander or Robbe… Their only worry was about not losing face to the world… Showing that France would stand up against a world power. 

As if the legal threat against Sander was not enough, now his own parliament had to cause extra problems for Robbe… War had to be prevented at all cost… Robbe hated war. He hated the suffering that it causes. He believed that there should never be war again. And it was one of the things he had promised to himself that he was going to fight for when he accepted his office. He was going to try to end wars anywhere on earth and negotiate and use all his diplomatic skills to find solutions to prevent future wars… Sven’s heart broke when he saw Robbe struggling. No, 17 year old should have to carry this responsibility… Robbe should be able to enjoy his teenage years… 

Sander and Robbe sat on the bed crying in each other’s arms. And while both boys were suffering they were also trying desperately to comfort the other one. Robbe kept promising Sander that everything would be alright. That they will never ever get separated again. That a solution would be found to bring Sander safely to France. Robbe was trying to convince Sander as much as he was trying to convince himself… 

Robbe let loose of Sander. “Sorry baby, I need to use the restroom…” he said. It was a lie… He wanted to speak Sven in private. Robbe walked out of the bedroom and gave a non-verbal sign to Sven to follow him. Once they were in the bathroom, Robbe carefully closed the door so that Sander wouldn’t hear anything. He knew that what he was going to ask would hurt Sander but he had no choice. “If no solution is found and Sander has to go to prison…” Robbe started, “If I abdicate, I am a regular person, right? Someone who has no immunity from prosecution, right? So, if I abdicate I could go to prison with Sander?”. Sven was horrified by Robbe’s words. “Don’t say that” Sven said in anguish. “I can’t live without Sander, Sven. I would rather be in prison with him than be free without him…” Robbe sobbed. Sven wrapped his arms around Robbe and said: “Nobody is going to go to prison. Do you hear me? Nobody!”. 

Robbe returned from the bathroom to the bedroom and immediately wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. The two boys stayed in each other’s arms, crying, the whole night…

**Saturday January 9th, 2021**

09:12

A knock on the door… A guard opened the door and six people walked in while showing their badges. The DGSI agents from France had arrived. They carried big bags with them full of specialized equipment: sniffers to look for the radio waves emitted by bugs, fibreoptic borescopes, stereomicroscopes, metal detectors, a portable x-ray machine, oscilloscopes, lap tops, and lots of tools such as screwdrivers and pliers. Sven handed over all the phones and said: “Strip this room apart!”. The experts wasted no time and immediately took out all the sniffers to start scanning the room. Next, they started to remove the electricity outlets, light switches, disassembling the electronics including the phone, television, hair dryer, mini fridge,… Even the matrass didn’t survive… It was cut open. After a few minutes of searching through the inner content of the matrass, one agent pulled out a tiny, approximately 1 square centimetre circuit board containing various electronic compounds. “Bingo!” the agent yelled. The bug was immediately examined under a stereomicroscope and then connected to a lap top for analysis. Half an hour later the experts were ready to report their initial findings. 

“This bug contains a microphone. It transmits the recorded sound through radio waves. Whoever placed this is a pro because he or she must have realized that our experts would scan the hotel room before your arrival and the radio signal would give it away. Therefore, the bug was programmed to only switch on at night. Therefore, we believe that the bug was placed on purpose to record what you do at night…” the agent explained. Sven was more direct in his conclusion: “This was a set-up, someone placed a bug to record you having sex so they could charge Sander with a crime…”. 

11:07

Sven was reviewing the many potential solutions that had been send to him by various lawyers, diplomats, and government officials… Many suggested the use of various forms of diplomatic pressure and sanctions against the US such as import tariffs on US goods… Others came with more ingenious solutions. Sven found one that was worth proposing to the boys. “You could marry now” Sven suggested. “Huh, what?” Robbe said. “Yes, the moment you’re married Sander becomes immune from legal prosecution” Sven explained. “But I am a minor?” Robbe questioned. “We can petition the French family court to declare you an adult…” Sven said. Robbe wasn’t keen on this idea, he had imagined his wedding with Sander a bit nicer than a legal ceremony in a hotel room in the absence of his family and friends. Furthermore, Robbe already had plans in this area and he didn’t want to abandon those… Of course, if there was no other option he would do it. He would never allow the police to arrest Sander… 

“Couldn’t we make Sander a diplomat so he has immunity?” Robbe asked. “No, the list of diplomats who go on a special mission has to be submitted in advance to the host nation. We cannot suddenly make someone else a diplomat during a mission…” Sven explained. But Robbe’s suggestion triggered a brilliant solution in Sven’s mind. He stopped pacing and asked one of the guards: “Fetch me one of those big crates that you use to transport the security equipment”. Moments later he came back with a crate. “We’ll put Sander in this crate and smuggle him to the airplane in this way” Sven explained. “You think the police won’t see though this plan?” Robbe asked. “Of course, but it doesn’t matter. We’re putting him in a diplomatic bag, such bags cannot be opened or detained according to article 28 of the 1969 Convention” Sven explained. 

This was the brilliant solution everyone had been waiting for. It would allow Sander to leave the US without the need for harmful things like sanctions or worse. It also could be done immediately. No need to wait for court decisions or other time consuming plans… “You’re sure it will work?” Robbe asked still afraid that the plan might have some unknown weakness… “Pretty certain” Sven replied, “But I’ll check with the lawyers for good measure…”. 

16:29

The King, Sven and their guards left the hotel room with the big crate. Outside the police was waiting for them. “Where’s Sander?” one of the officers asked. “Disappeared… Magic trick…” Sven said while barely able to suppress his smile. The officers looked at the big crate… “Diplomatic bag… So hands off” Sven clarified. The agents understood that they had been outmanoeuvred and send angry looks in the direction of Sven and Robbe. They knew that Sander was in the crate just one meter away from them and yet they couldn’t do anything. Even stopping the transportation of the box without opening it was a violation of international law. They were completely powerless to stop Sander leaving the country and they knew it… Sven couldn’t hold it anymore… He burst into laughing… If Sander had been there he would probably have said: “I think we’ve won”. 

Once in the airplane, the crate was opened and Sander was finally safe. Robbe was overly excited that Sander was safe that his instantly jumped on the boy as soon as he exited the crate. Robbe’s arms around Sander’s neck and his legs around Sander’s waist. Sander struggled to keep his balance and Robbe didn’t make it easier by starting to kiss his boyfriend. Robbe clung to Sander like a koala. “For god’s sake, go to the bedroom!” Sven teased. The boys didn’t wait a moment. Soon they were intertwined in bed like a Gordian knot. Afraid that if they got loose from each other that someone would tear them apart. Robbe was whispering sweet words in Sander’s ear. But no words existed to describe his love… Not even Shakespeare would be able to capture Robbe’s love for Sander on paper. 

Sven went to the office and he picked up a secure phone and called Jean-Philippe Hugot, the director of the General Directorate for Internal Security and Pierre Delafosse, the Chief Prosecutor of France. Sven explained the situation and demanded a full investigation into the leak that contacted the police and who planted the bug in their hotel room. “It’s clear that the goal is to hurt the King but as it’s very hard to attack him personally hence the attackers have focussed on the weak target, Sander. As these attacks have the goal to destabilize the French state they constitute treason against France” Sven said. Both officials promised a full scale investigation. 

Moments later the phone rang. “Hello, with the Regent of France” Sven said. “Hello your highness. It’s the President of the United States. I wish to offer my apologies for the treatment of His Serene Highness the prince de Lorraine” President Davis said. “Thank you but actions speak louder than words…” Sven said, “I want the District Prosecutor fired”. “But… I cannot do that… States have autonomy…” the President said. “I am Googling here and I see that according to the US Supreme Court in Parsons vs. United States from 1897, the US President has the authority to fire District Attorneys” Sven said. He had smartly outmanoeuvred the US President who now had to choose between the District Attorney or the relations of the US with France. “We see his act as an attack against the French state… I honestly believe that this was the action of one public official of the US and hence should not reflect on the country as a whole… Especially, if the government punishes the rogue public official…” Sven said to increase pressure. It remained still on the President’s side for several minutes. He had probably muted the mic and was talking to some advisors… Finally, the President came back on the line: “Ok, I’ll fire the District Attorney after my surgery because the nurses are waiting here already to take me in”. “Oh…” Sven said surprised. “Kidney stones…” the President clarified. “Ok, well I wish you a speedy recovery and thank you Mr. President” Sven said. 

The boys thought that their problems were over, that they were safe now… But the nightmare was just beginning…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: many people will die in the next chapter. Don’t worry, Robbe and Sander will survive.


	29. The apocalypse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Lots of people will die in this chapter.

**Saturday January 9th, 2021**

18:12

Robbe, Sander, and Sven were watching a movie together when an aid walked in and said to immediately check the news. Sven opened the webpage of CNN on the television and the boys were shocked by the headline: “America in mourning: President Davis died in surgery”. 

“I am going to call the Vice-President, or well now he is the President…, to offer our condolences. Is it OK for you to also say something” Sven asked Robbe. “Sure” he replied. Sven picked up the phone and called the White House. He got instructed that the President was currently on Air Force One and the call was transferred to Air Force One. “Hello Mr. President. I would like to offer, in name of the French government and the people of France, our sincere condolences with the loss of President Davis. He was an integer, driven, and exceptionally smart person with a wonderful sense of humour. We will greatly miss him” Sven said. “Thank you, regent. I appreciate your support and kind…” President Burke started to reply when the connection suddenly broke… “President Burke?” Sven asked without getting a reply. 

Sven dialled back to the White House and asked to be reconnected to Air Force One, explaining that the connection had broken. The operator tried to reconnect but all attempts failed. “Isn’t Air Force One supposed to be the airplane with the most advanced set of communication tools in the world?” Robbe asked in disbelief. “It is…” Sven replied. 

Five minutes later Sven tried to call the White House again but they didn’t answer his call. He got an automated reply: “All of our operators are currently occupied. Please stay on the line…”. Sven put the phone down and decided to call Deputy Director Goodwin of the CIA to find out what was going on. “Mr. Goodwin? Why can I not reach the US President? What is going…” Sven started. “Things are crazy here… After the President died in surgery and now Air Force One shot down…” Deputy Director Goodwin said. “Wait! What? Air Force One shot down?” Sven exclaimed. “Yes, this is classified information but 7 minutes ago Air Force One was hit by an object traveling at approximately Mach 9. The plane crashed just outside of Raleigh, North Carolina… Sorry, but I must continue now… You understand it’s all hands on deck here…” Mr. Goodwin said before hanging up the phone.

“That’s impossible” Robbe said in disbelief, “Air Force One has every form of anti-missile protection known… From heat-seeking to radar-guided missile defences… And no missile can reach Mach 9…”. “No, but railguns can…” Sven replied. Robbe laughed: “Terrorists don’t have railguns that can hit moving targets 10 or more kilometre away…”. “Now that the President and VP are both dead, the Acting President is the Speaker of the House, right?” Sven said. “Yes…” Robbe confirmed. Sven opened Google and typed in: “Speaker of the House”.

Wikipedia: [Bill McDuff is the current Speaker of the House. He is the brother of US Army Lieutenant general Eric McDuff…]

Sven clicked on Eric McDuff.

Wikipedia: [Eric McDuff is the General Commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg…]

After checking out the XVIII Airborne Corps, he discovered that it included the 18th Field Artillery Brigade… “That seems a bit too coincidental…” Sven said. “Do you know what you’re saying…” Robbe exclaimed in disbelief. “You’re saying that the Speaker of the House was behind the murder of the US President and VP…” Robbe said with trembling voice. “Yes…” Sven said. “Or do you think that it’s coincidental that Air Force One crashed just outside of the Army base headed by the brother of the current Acting President of the United States?” Sven asked. Robbe agreed, this was no coincidence… 

Sven ran out of the room towards the cockpit. “Turn off the transponder!” he said as soon as he entered the cockpit. “Regent… We could have a mid-air collision…” the captain replied in panic. “They shot down Air Force One! Turn off the transponder! Fly at an altitude that is uncommon for commercial planes…” Sven instructed, “And don’t talk to air traffic control. We don’t want to get triangulated…”. In absolute horror because of these revelations the pilots complied with Sven’s instructions and turned off the transponder. 

18:29

Robbe was in a crisis meeting with his cabinet through a video conference. Half an hour after all other cabinet ministers had arrived at the Élysée, Madeleine Thibault, Minister of Foreign Affairs, had still not arrived… Robbe was feeling frustrated that during an international crisis his minister of foreign affairs was not present and did not even pick up her phone…

Suddenly, agents walked into the cabinet room and went to all the ministers. The ministers got up and left the room. Robbe was flabbergasted. What the hell was going on. Why did agents break up his cabinet meeting? Then agents walked into his office as well. “Your majesty, Ruby Dice protocol has been activated” an agent said. Sven’s face turned to pure horror… Moments later he had calmed himself down enough to switch to executive mode… “Change destination from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Vélizy-Villacoublay Air Base. Have a helicopter waiting for us there to transport us to the bunker…” Sven instructed. “And give me your guns!” Sven instructed the GIGN agents. “Sir…” the senior agent said. “Your guns!” Sven again demanded. The agents complied and gave off their guns. “Now, leave us!” Sven said firmly.

“What is happening? What is Ruby Dice? Why are we going to a focking bunker?” Robbe was firing questions at Sven. “Have you heard about the American Continuity of Government plan?” Sven asked. Robbe nodded. “Well, we have a similar program from the cold war called Rudy Dice. In case of a threat for a nuclear strike against France, the cabinet would be moved to five different bunkers around Paris, decreasing the chance that the whole government would die… The bunkers are located far enough from Paris to survive a strike on Paris, yet close enough that we can relocate in time…” Sven explained. “Why has this been activated?” Robbe demanded to know. Sven picked up the phone and called: “Why was Rudy Dice initiated and who gave the order? … I see… Thank you”. A tear ran down Sven’s cheek and his face had turned to sadness. “What is happening?” Robbe asked firmly. “I am so sorry…” Sven said. “What???” Robbe screamed. Sven walked over and tried to hug Robbe but Robbe pushed him away and said: “Tell me”. “I am so sorry but Madeleine Thibault’s car has exploded…” Sven said. “Car’s don’t explode” Robbe said in disbelief. But before he even finished his sentence the truth started to sink in… Madeleine had been murdered… 

“So we’re going to hide in a bunker?” Sander asked in a voice that indicated his displeasure at the idea of spending days, or god knows how long, underground. “No, but that is what I want everyone else to think…” Sven said. “Do you have any friends where we could go into hiding?” Sven asked the boys. “The flat share?” Robbe immediately suggested. “No, no place that is so obvious. Not at known friends… We need a place where nobody can find us. Do you have any friends that nobody else knows about?” Sven replied. “I have a friend…” Sander said, “Jason, we sprayed together”. “And nobody else knows? You’re not friends with him on social media or so?” Sven asked. “Nope, he doesn’t even have any profiles on social media. He’s very timidly and avoids attention… He just lives for his art… He has a small apartment in Antwerp” Sander explained. 

“As we’re going to disappear… We should appoint a regent to lead France in the meantime…” Sven said, “Any suggestions?”. Robbe thought about it and he knew very well given the current situation that he could only pick someone he would trust blindfolded. Only three people came to his mind. His own mother and Sander’s parents. His family on his father’s side could use the situation to push Robbe aside and declare himself King so all those fell off the candidate list. “Can it be a woman?” Robbe asked. “Certainly” Sven said, “It wouldn’t be the first time that a woman is regent of France… Anne of Austria, the mother of Louis XIV was regent of France for 8 years. Before that Marie de' Medici was regent to her underaged son Louis XIII and before that you had Catherine de' Medici who acted as regent on three occasions…”. “Then I choose my mother” Robbe said confidently. Sven approved of Robbe’s choice and started to draft the paperwork. 

“You should change clothing. Something more incognito… You should wear a hoody so you can use the cap to hide your face” Sven said. “Oh, and give me your shoes” Sven asked. Sander looked surprised. What did Sven want with his Dr. Martens? As soon as Sven had Sander’s shoes in his hands he took out a knife and stuck it into the sole. “What are you doing?!” Sander said in disbelief. But moments later Sven extracted a small piece of electronics from the sole. He put it on the floor and crushed it with his foot. “A GPS tracker in case you would get kidnapped” Sven clarified. “Remove the battery and SIM card from your phones” Sven instructed the boys. 

“You know know how to use these?” Sven asked while handing over the guns. Robbe nodded while Sander shook his head. “Only rifles” Robbe clarified. During his youth vacations at Balmoral castle he had often gone clay pigeon shooting with members of the British Royal Family. And he was talented… On multiple occasions he had won from prince Charles, prince Harry, and price William… “Ok, this is the safety” Sven started to explain… 

19:13

Sven opened a special vault and started to fill his backpack with burner phones, cash money, diplomatic passports, C4 plastic explosive, a laptop containing specialized encryption software, some ultra-secretive documents,… He then left the office and went to the military officer who was carrying the nuclear briefcase. He demanded the briefcase and took it to the office before locking the door. Sven opened the briefcase and demanded Sander’s backpack. Sander was confused about what was going on but he complied. Sven took everything from the briefcase and put it in Sander’s backpack before handing the backpack back to Sander with the clear instruction: “Don’t you dare to loose your backpack!”. 

“What are you doing?” Robbe demanded to know. “We’re going to disappear and we don’t know what is going to happen. There was a coup in the US and there could be one in France… I don’t want some psychopath to get his hands on this…” Sven explained. His face clearly in anguish of the idea that it might fall into the hands of someone who would actually use it… He then filled the nuclear briefcase with some books and lifted it up to judge if the weight was correct. “Hmmm, one more book” Sven said, “Perfect”. He closed the briefcase, unlocked the door and handed the briefcase back to the military officer.

**Sunday January 10th, 2021**

03:11 

An agent came to Sven and said: “Your highness, we’re above Belgium”. “Have you ever jumped from an airplane?” Sven asked the boys. “What???” Robbe said in disbelief. “Well there has to be a first time for everything” Sven said while handing Robbe a parachute. “Why?” Robbe demanded to know. “Best way to disappear, as nobody knows where we will exactly land” Sven explained. When everyone had put on their parachute, Sven shouted to brace and hold on tight. Moments later the door of the airplane opened and the air rushed out of the airplane. “Noooo” Robbe screamed. “Come! Allez come!” Sander begged. “Noooo” Robbe repeated. Sander send out a puppy look at Robbe… How could Robbe refuse anything when Sander looked at him like that… He couldn’t… Sander, never afraid of trying something new, was the first one to jump. “Woooooh” Sander yelled as he jumped out. Robbe followed Sander like a puppy and jumped out next. Finally, Sven jumped out. 

When the boys hit the ground, Sven took out a burner phone and called Senne. A pretty annoyed Senne answered his phone. Why the fock would an unknown number be calling him at 3 o’clock in the night! “Hi Senne. It’s me, Sven. Are you alone?” Sven asked. “Yes, why? Do you know how late it is?“ he replied. “I can’t explain but I need you to come and pick me, Robbe, Sander, and Willem III up… We’re in a field in the neighbourhood of Aalst. I will go and look for a street sign and call you back when I know a more precise location. But can you in the meantime already drive in this direction? And don’t tell anyone. Not even Zoë about any of this” Sven instructed. “I don’t get it… Why are you in Belgium? You can call any French government agency to provide you with a car? Why are you calling me awake?” Senne asked irritated. “Sorry. I understand your reaction but at the moment I cannot explain it to you. Just come here and I will explain it to you when we’re in the car. You must believe that we had nobody else that we could call…” Sven said before ending the phone call. 

Then the boys attention was caught by bright light flashes on the sky in the direction where the airplane they had been on was flying. One flash, immediately followed by a second one, then a third one. Sven hold in his breath… “Please, don’t let there be a fourth one” he begged. Sven knew very well that their plane had enough flares to disable 3 heat seeking missiles but that they were now defenceless… But all of Sven’s prayers were in vain, a fourth flash followed by a fireball… 

“Willem III! Diane! Veronique! Yvonne! Marc! Anthony! Didier!...” Robbe started to yell, naming all the people he had learned to know in the last two months who were on board of the plane… Robbe fell on his knees as tears flooded his face. Soon his thoughts went to Diane and little Sander. Diane had been Robbe’s press secretary and given birth just two weeks ago. Robbe had tried to convince her to take some time off but she insisted on going with the boys to California. Four months before he was born he already lost his dad from cancer. She had become a good friend of the boys and even named her child Sander. She had promised Robbe to bring little Sander with her when they were back from the California trip as both boys were eager to meet little Sander. Now little Sander, just two weeks old, was an orphan…

Sven felt Robbe’s pain… But pain never paralyzes him. He’s like a physician who during a disaster may lose a patient and yet cannot take a moment to grieve about it because other patients need to be helped and they might die while the physician mourns... Sven similarly pushed his sadness away, there would be time later to mourn, now work needed to be done. They needed to get away from the crash site before police, fire fighters and paramedics arrive. That people think they are dead is what will help them save their lives. Sven knew that if Robbe died, those who wanted war would get their way… So going into hiding was not an act of cowardice but a necessary sacrifice to prevent war. He took Robbe’s hand and physically pulled the boy from the ground. With his other hand he grabbed Sander and he started to run away… 

Suddenly, Sven’s attention was drawn by something in the sky. A parachute with someone hanging on it was coming down about 100 meters away from the boys. Sven immediately ran towards it. It was a small moment of joy that at least one other person had survived the tragedy… He found Willem III in complete shock laying on the ground with his parachute still attached. “You’re OK?” Sven asked. “His majesty? Sander?” Willem III said in panic. “Don’t worry, they are safe” Sven said. “How did you get out?” Sven asked desperately hoping that Willem III would explain that he and others succeeded on jumping out after the rocket had hit the plane. “I couldn’t leave you all by yourselves… I must be there for his majesty…” Willem III said, “I jumped out behind you guys just like 30 seconds before…”. Sven saw his hope evaporate… No-one else was going to land by parachute. 

Sven and Willem III returned to the boys and the four of them kept walking further away from the crash site. “Did you know that they were going to attack the plane?” Robbe yelled at Sven. Robbe was suffering from survivor guilt. “No, of course not. You think I would allow all those people to die? No, I instructed the pilots to turn of the transponder and change the route… So, I thought the airplane would be safe… I thought they would be unable to find the plane and hence attack us when we were on the ground… By getting off the plane I didn’t just try to safe our lives but also the lives of the other people on board. I hoped that the conspirators would know that we were no longer with them and hence not attack them…” Sven explained in tears. 

“How did they find the plane without its transponder?” Sander asked. “The plane would still be visible on radar… Just nobody would know what plane it was… So, either they gambled that the plane without transponder was the right one… Or they somehow tracked us in another way…” Sven answered. “How?” Sander asked. “They could have tracked us by satellite…” Sven suggested. Then it hit him… Sven took out the papers he had printed a few hours before. He went through the list of units based at Fort Bragg and then he found what he sought… The 11th Special Operations Intelligence Squadron at Fort Bragg works together with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. “That’s how they found us…” Sven said, “Through a spy satellite…”. 

A while later the boys were far enough from the crash site in another grain field. Sven had discovered that they were in a little town called Affligem near Aalst and he had informed Senne about their location. 

Next, Sven called Jean-Philippe Hugot, the director of the General Directorate for Internal Security. He had thought about this deeply and come to the conclusion that he was one of the very few people who he really trusted. “Hello” Sven said. “OMG, you’re alive!” Jean-Philippe shouted. “Yes, and the King, Sander, and Willem III are also alive” Sven said, “I need your help but you cannot tell this to anyone. For the moment everyone must believe that we’re dead…”. Sven paused. Fock, this was hard even for him. “Not even our families… Except for Robbe’s mother and Sander’s parents. You can tell them but you must instruct them clearly that nobody else can know and you must tell them to play the act of grieving parents well…” Sven said while letting a tear ran down his cheek. “And his father?” Jean-Philippe asked. “Sorry…” Sven said, “You know he’s with Marie and she absolutely cannot be trusted…”. He knew the pain he was going to cause Louis but he had good reasons to believe that Louis’ girlfriend Marie was actively involved in all this…

“As we’re presumed dead, I and Robbe won’t have access anymore to the French government’s databases…” Sven started. Jean-Philippe knew exactly what Sven wanted: “Do you have something to write?”. “Yes” Sven replied. “My password is: Romeo X-ray Sierra 2121 capital letter Foxtrot Oscar Romeo Echo Victor Echo Romeo” Jean-Philippe said, feeling kind of embarrassed to admit this to Sven. “You got it?” he asked. “I don’t think we will forget that one” Sven teased. 

“I need something else from you…” Sven said, “Some may now claim that the King is dead and try to proclaim themselves the successor of Robbe. You must make clear that in the absence of hard evidence that Robbe is dead that no-one else can take his place. French will be lead in the meantime by a regent, Robbe’s mother. I’ve send you the document that we signed earlier today to confirm that. I had to backdate it not to make it suspicious that Robbe just before his ‘death’ appointed a regent… I need you to slip that document into the archives of the French state as if it had been there for over a month…” Sven said. After that he said goodbye to Jean-Philippe before destroying the phone he just used. 

04:23 

Senne arrived… “What’s going on?” he asked. “I’ll explain later…” Sven said, “But first remove the battery of your phone…”. “Why?” Senne asked. “To prevent us from being tracked” Sven explained while Senne complied. “Now let’s leave…” he said while handing the parachutes to Senne. “Parachutes???” Senne asked in disbelief. “We jumped out of an airplane” Sander said with a sneaky smile. “What???” Senne was really confused. Moments later all the boys were in the car. “Where to?” Senne asked. “Antwerp” Sven said.  
“We will get out on the vaartkaai underneath the bridge ‘Burgemeester Gabriel Theunis’. The bridge will hide us from prying eyes. We must get out very quickly in case the car is followed by a satellite… That it doesn’t spend a too long time underneath the bridge to draw attention. Then you must drive further to Moyo. Stop at his house. Make sure you parc underneath some trees to hide you from satellites. Stay there for some minutes and then leave again. Do not ring the bell or inform Moyo about this. Goal is to make anyone tracking us think that the boys are at Moyo’s. Then you go to the flat share” Sven explained. 

“I will have to stop at a gas station…” Senne said. “Actually that’s good” Sven said, “Go to the shop and buy a bottle of water, cola or whatever else… Poor it out and fill it with gasoline”. Senne didn’t understand why Sven wanted this but complied without asking.

05:12

As the boys drove into the city they found themselves in line for a police check. “Fuck” Sven said. Luckily he had thought of everything. “Shall I turn around?” Senne asked. “Absolutely not!” Sven said, “The last thing we want is to draw attention”. “Senne you must do all the talking as they cannot see our faces or hear our voices” Sven said. “Here” he said while handing Senne four passports. “What are these?” Senne questioned. “Diplomatic passports” Sven said, “Tell them that we are employees of the French consulate in Antwerp and hand over the passports”. “That’s all you have to say or do. Do not hand over any other documents or answer any other questions. If they ask for anything you point out that we have diplomatic immunity and that they cannot search us or question us” Sven explained. “And if they call the consulate?” Robbe asked. “Don’t worry, our fake names are in the database listed as agents of the DGSI. So, the consulate will confirm our story” Sven answered. 

“Quickly” Sven told Willem III, “Go and lay down on the ground. Sven had no diplomatic passport for Willem III so the police shouldn’t notice that there are five people in the car. Luckily Senne had a blanket in the car that he used when taking Zoë out for picknicks that the boys now put over their legs. Willem III was laying flat on the floor of the car with Robbe and Sander’s feet resting carefully on his back, all covered with the blanket. Sander quickly put on a beanie to hide his platina blond hair that was so distinctive of him and that the whole world by now knew about… The beanie together with the cap of his hoodie should hopefully hide all his hair… 

The car reached the checkpoint. The agent instructed Senne to lower the window. “IDs” the police officer instructed. Senne complied and gave the diplomatic passports. “We’re French diplomates working for the consulate” Senne explained. The officer took a quick look at the papers before returning them. “It’s fine, you can drive on” he said. 

Finally, the car reached the bridge and the boys got out. They started their long walk to the other side of the city hoping that nobody would recognize them. They wore their hoodies on to cover their faces and luckily it was still very dark outside and few people were out, especially on foot. The boys tried to choose the darkest and most quiet streets… So they decided that walking though Park Spoor Noord should be a good idea. Wrong… Their hearts skipped a beat. “Fock fock fock” Sven thought as he saw Noor spraying. The boys quickly started to walk away trying to hide their faces. Luckily Noor was so absorbed by her art that she had completely missed what had happened just meters away from her…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out what happens when little Sander turns 16 in the side story…  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/26326510/chapters/64108141


	30. Sander’s friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 30 already…  
> I hope you have all enjoyed reading a much as I enjoyed writing 😊  
> Thanks for all the supportive comments 😊  
> Enjoy chapter 30!

**Sunday January 10th, 2021**

06:03

The boys arrived at Jason’s apartment. It was located on the third floor of an old townhouse in the neighbourhood “south”. Sander knew this part of Antwerp well as multiple art museums are located here including the photo museum, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, and the contemporary museum of art. 

“Thank you so much Jason” Sander said. “No problem, bro” Jason replied, “You’ll do the same for me”. “Thank you Jason!” Robbe said while shaking Jason’s hand. “The boy of the mural” Jason said with a smile. “You’ve seen it?” Robbe asked. “Of course, I know every piece that Sander has ever sprayed here in Antwerp” Jason replied. “Oh, so you’re also a fan of Sander’s work” Robbe joked. “Teenagers in love…” Jason joked back. 

The boys walked in and Jason’s whole apartment made Robbe think of Sander’s art studio… The walls and ceiling of the apartment were completely decorated with graffiti art. Dozens of canvasses stood leaning against the walls… All Jason’s art work… In contrast to Sander, Jason had not enjoyed an official art education, instead he had taught everything himself through trial and error… His work was extremely good showing incredible talent. His style was impressionist, similar to Vincent van Gogh who was also self-taught. One of his favourite subjects was the night’s sky but he also painted portraits, still lifes, and landscapes. “Wow” Robbe said impressed, “I like Jason’s work”. “More than mine?” Sander teased. Robbe shut Sander up with a kiss. 

The living room also functioned as his art studio and featured a big easel with next to it on the right a mayo stand on which a tempered glass palette with grey underground was mounted. Next to it was a table on which multiple jars stood full with over a hundred brushes, several palette knives, a wooden palette, sticks of charcoal, rags, paper towels, fixative, jars, bottles of turpentine, linseed oil, and other paint mediums. To the left was his photo holder for when he made paintings based on pictures. A maulstick leaned against the photo holder. Behind it was his shadow box for when he paints still lifes and a cabinet with all his paints. Robbe noticed the big black curtains covering the windows. Sander noticed the enquiring look on Robbe’s face. “No, Jason is not afraid of the sunlight. He’s not a vampire…” Sander laughed. “When you paint you need to exclude light coming from behind you, that causes glare…” Sander explained. “There” Sander pointed, “That’s the studio light that he uses… This gives him control of the lighting”. 

Except for his painting supplies, the living room was rather spartan with one sofa, a medium sized television, a small circular dining table, and a few cabinets. The biggest piece of furniture was a large antique unvarnished wooden bookcase filled with countless art books. Jason had read every single one of the books he owned. Sometimes he would start studying at 8 o’clock in the morning and take no breaks until the rumbling of his stomach in the late afternoon would force him to take his first break. In addition to books on art, his bookcase also housed Jason’s extensive notebook collection. These functioned as diaries in which he recorded his daily thoughts but they also contained lots of technical information. Jason was like a knowledge sponge. He loved to know how things worked and took detailed notes of everything he learned. 

Indeed, Jason was highly intelligent. He would remember every small detail about every piece of art he had ever looked at… Despite never having attended the academy, Jason’s knowledge of art history even eclipsed the encyclopaedic knowledge of Sander. In fact, Sander believes that Jason knows more about art history than his professor at the academy… 

Jason is autistic and generally avoids other people. He lives a sequestered life in his apartment surrounded by his art. Sander was his only friend, connected with Jason through their mutual love for the arts. Other people always tried to change him… They would try to stimulate him to go out to, for example, parties or they would try to talk to him about his feelings, emotions, and desires… But Sander was different, he respected Jason for who he was and did not try to change him. The boys would soon learn that Jason preferred to be alone and generally didn’t like to talk to other people… The exception was art… He could talk for hours about art with Sander… But if one tried to talk to Jason about anything else he would simply ignore you. 

Life didn’t come easy for Jason. His lack of social contact prevented him from having much of a job. He would make the occasional income from selling some of his art… Sven took Sander apart and gave him a thousand euro. “It’s probably best if you give it to Jason” Sven said. Jason will have to buy food, we’re using his water and electricity,… And he doesn’t have much so Sven wanted to make sure that he was more than compensated for the costs. He wanted to give a multiple of it but he was unsure about how Jason would react. Some people don’t like when you give them money to help them… Sven didn’t know Jason so he didn’t want to make a mistake. He could always give him more money later if he had discovered that Jason did not object. Or actually not give the money but buy some art pieces for several times the price that Jason would normally sell them for but than it would uplift his self-worth rather than harm it by feeling dependent… 

06:18

“You must be tired” Jason asked. Yes, we’ve not slept in well… Hmmm, 24 hours…” Sven replied. “I only have one bedroom… But you can have it” Jason said to Sander and Robbe. “No, it’s your apartment…” Robbe protested. “I am alone… You will want to sleep together. I am fine with the sofa. Really. It would not be the first time that I sleep in the sofa…” Jason said. “I have an air mattress” Jason told Sven and Willem, slightly embarrassed. “That be fine” Sven replied. Robbe and Sander said goodnight to everyone and left for the bedroom while Sven and Willem set up their air mattress in the living room. 

06:31

Sven walked into the bedroom. “Can I talk to you before you sleep?” Sven asked. “Yes, but make it short… I am really tired” Robbe said. “Give me your backpack” Sven instructed Sander. In the meantime Sven had taken the bottle of gasoline that Senne has given him from his own backpack. He also took a block of a malleable white material and put it on the bottle of gasoline. “C4 plastic explosive” Sven clarified. Next, he inserted a detonator into the C4. He opened up Sander’s backpack and inserted the bomb. With a serious face Sven started: “If… If we…”. He took a breath before continuing: “If we don’t survive this… Then whoever can MUST push this button and destroy the nuclear launch codes! The gasoline will incinerate the papers… These CANNOT fall into the wrong hands!”. The two boys nodded. “Ok, goodnight Robbe! Goodnight Sander!” Sven said. “Goodnight Sven!” both boys said together. 

06:49

The two boys were finally in bed after the most exhausting day in their lives. Sander spooned Robbe and immediately and instinctively put his arm around Robbe in an attempt to keep his angel safe. Robbe grasped Sander’s arm and pushed it harder against his chest. Sander’s hand rested on top of Robbe’s heart and he could feel the vibrations of the beating in his fingers. It helped to calm him down. Sander gave a kiss on Robbe’s neck. “Goodnight baby” Sander said. “Goodnight my prince” Robbe replied. The two boys were so exhausted that they nearly instantly fell asleep… 

08:55

“Aaarrrrgggghhhh…” Robbe yelled and he shot up from bed. Sander woke up from Robbe’s cry and he found his boyfriend sitting upright crying. He immediately wrapped his arms around Robbe to make him feel safe. “I saw them…” Robbe said. “Who?” Sander asked. “I saw Madeleine’s car explode… I saw Diana burning…” Robbe sobbed. Sander wanted to say “It’s just a dream” but sadly these events had really happened. He didn’t know what to say to comfort Robbe. What could one really say? So, he instead did the thing they always did when words failed them. He held Robbe firmly in his arms making him feel Sander’s love. 

13:02

Sven stormed into Robbe and Sander’s bedroom. “Come!” he said. Sven had woken up just ten minutes before and had decided to watch the 1PM news on television. Robbe and Sander were still sleepy… Six hours of sleep was too little especially after everything that had happened… 

As the boys walked into the living room Sven restarted the news broadcast. “The world is currently in an unprecedented crisis…” the news reader started. “After the death of the US President and Vice-President yesterday, the murder of the French King and regent, and the French foreign minister now today this morning troops under the command of Army General Nikolai Smirnov have surrounded the Kremlin and have placed the President of the Russian Federation under house arrest. General Smirnov and a group of other generals have declared themselves the new leaders of Russia. According to a press communication from General Smirnov, the current leadership of Russia have committed treason against the country by working with American imperialists to weaken Russia. Immediately after the announcement protests erupted in multiple Russian cities but the military has violently ended those protests and thousands of people have been arrested…” the news reader continued while amateur-shot videos of soldiers beating up protestors were shown. “General Smirnov is the grandson of a Soviet general who was also a member of the Politburo and is known for his affection towards authoritarian leadership…” the news reader continued.

The boys were shocked. What was going on? How was Russia now involved? Sven saw the puzzled look in Robbe’s eyes and spoke: “Remember our meeting with CIA deputy director Goodwin?”. “Yes…” Robbe said. “He told us that the minister of defence of Russia was in Paris on December 21st and that the minister of justice of Italy was there at the same time… The PM of Italy was murdered and now a coup in Russia…” Sven explained. “You think that they were in Paris to plan this? And that someone from within the French government was also involved?” Robbe said. “Exactly” Sven replied and he typed minister of defence of Russia into Google. 

Wikipedia: [Igor Petrovsky is the current minister of defence of Russia… His sister, Natasha, is married to Army General Nikolai Smirnov]

“Bingo!” Sven said. “But how is Italy and France involved in all of this?” Robbe wondered. “That’s what we need to find out…” Sven said. He stood up and walked towards the bedroom. Robbe followed him. “What are you doing?” Robbe asked. “I am turning the bedroom into our information room” Sven said while he was taping documents to the wall. He put up pictures of all the people who had been implicated in the events so far and what their possible connections might be… He also put up a picture of Bill McDuff, the current Acting President of the US. The picture was taken by a US-based agent of the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), the French external intelligence agency a few months ago. It showed Bill meeting another middle aged, Caucasian male with brown hair and a full beard who remained unidentified so far. What had drawn Sven’s attention to this photo is that the DGSE was unable to identify this person despite spending significant effort trying… 

13:42

“You must be hungry?” Jason asked. “Starving” Sander replied. “I have not much in the home but I have some frozen pizza… Of course, we can also order pizza…” Jason said. “Frozen is fine” Sven said, “Better not have a delivery guy over… You never know…”. Jason took out three pizza’s and turned on the oven. 

13:56

Sander went to the bathroom.

14:18

Where was Sander??? He was in the bathroom for over 20 minutes now… All boys were wondering what Sander was doing. Suddenly the door opened… Robbe’s mouth fell open in amazement… “You like it?” a brown haired Sander asked. “You look amazing” Robbe said with a smile. He honestly would be hard pressed to chose between Sander’s white and brown hair. He looked stunning both ways… Though, the white hair always evoked such powerful memories… This was how Sander looked when Robbe fell in love with him… The boy who changed his world… 

“Pizzas are ready” Jason interrupted the boys. Everyone got up and went to eat. 

15:37

“Do you guys want something special?” Jason asked. “You can bring a bottle of whiskey” Robbe said, “I can use a drink with everything what happened…”. “Bring some beer too” Sander asked. “And everything needed to make croques” Sven added. “Yeah, I know Sander…” Jason said with a wink. Sander had given him the money and Jason had accepted it to pay for groceries and other expenses but he did not want to be compensated for allowing the boys to stay at his place. So, the boys had decided that they would buy several art works from Jason as compensation. Robbe had really fallen in love with some of the night sky paintings because they reminded him of his and Sander’s vacation last summer in La Roche-en-Ardenne when they spent hours watching the stars together… They talked about all the universes out there where they would be happily together… Sander now really was certain that he had found his Robbe in all of them…

19:04

Jason had gone out to buy some French fries and burgers for dinner. He just got back and now everyone was ready to start eating. Sven, Robbe, Sander, and Willem went to the bedroom to eat so that Jason could eat alone in the living room. Robbe felt bad about it. He felt so sad that Jason was so lonely but Sander promised Robbe that that was who he was. He was happy when he was alone… Having to eat with other people would stress him out…  
Robbe opened the bottle of whiskey and filled glasses for everyone. “What else can I toast on that hoping that this nightmare ends soon…” Robbe said. Sander put his hand on Robbe’s back and started to carefully rub him… Like Robbe had done to Sander more than a year ago after that fight with Britt… Robbe smiled. Sander always got Robbe back from negative thoughts… Robbe turned towards Sander and kissed him… “Oooo… Can you wait a bit until we’re done eating? Than you get the room to yourself…” Sven teased causing everyone to start laughing. 

20:19

Everyone was getting a bit intoxicated and so the normal reservations got lost… “What do you love so much about Robbe” Willem asked. “His butt” Sander sneakily replied. Robbe’s face turned red like a tomato while Sven and Willem started to laugh. “So, what do you like about me?” Sander asked Robbe. “The way you look at me with those mesmerizing green eyes of you… Your smile… Your perfectly toned chest and stomach… And of course your hair…” Robbe replied. “Oooooo…” Sander said as he was endeared by Robbe’s beautiful words. Sander pulled Robbe in for a kiss. Sven and Willem got the message… They were unwanted guests at the moment… 

Sven and Willem returned to the living room promising that they wouldn’t return to the bedroom. Robbe had started to blush a bit when Sven said that… “Finally alone” Sander said with a sneaky smile. “You’re so sexy when you act shy” Sander teased. “Sander…” Robbe said. But the next moment Sander’s lips touched his and Robbe was on fire… “I love you so much” Robbe spoke in Sander’s mouth. “I love you too baby” Sander replied before kissing Robbe passionately. He slipped his hand underneath Robbe’s t-shirt. Robbe moaned as he felt Sander’s warm and soft hand across his stomach and then his chest. “I want you… I need you… Take me…” Robbe murmured. 

Sander removed Robbe’s t-shirt… Then his own… He laid down and their naked skin touched… Every nerve was tingling with the wonderful sensation of feeling the other boy… Sander went down and removed Robbe’s pants and boxer briefs. Robbe was burning from desire… “Sander… Sander… Sander…” Robbe moaned in bliss. Sander loved it when Robbe did this. Nobody else in the world had ever said his name with such a beautiful angelic voice… Robbe put his hands underneath Sander’s arms and pulled the boy up, on top of him. They started to kiss. Robbe’s hands flowed through Sander’s hair. His brown hair… Robbe pushed over so that he was now laying on top. He broke the kiss and pulled his face away so he could look at Sander. Sander opened his eyes. “Something wrong?” he asked. “Not at all. I just felt the irresistible need to look at you” Robbe said with a smile. Sander hands travelled from Robbe’s lower back up until he reached his boyfriends fluffy hair. His hands flowed through Robbe’s hair and he pulled the boy down again bringing their lips together again… 

Robbe went down on Sander. He kissed his neck… his collarbone… his nipples… Sander was kind of ticklish in his nipples and it felt so good when robbe kissed, licked, and sucked them. Sander had started to moan. Robbe continued on his way down showering Sander’s belly in kisses. He reached his thighs… The two boys showed each other all stars in the universe that night…


	31. The nightmare continues…

**Monday January 11th, 2021**

08:45

“You had fun last night?” Sven asked. “Hmmm” Sander teased. “It sounded like it…” Sven replied. OMG, Jason’s apartment walls must not be very sound proof… Robbe was starting to blush… “Come, Jason has fetched croissants from the bakery” Sven told the boys. “You can use some calories” Willem teased. Robbe’s face was full red by now. Sander smiled, he loved to see Robbe acting shy. 

10:11

“I would love to make of portrait of the two of you” Jason told Robbe and Sander. Both boys did not need any time to consider Jason’s offer. “I am ready” Robbe replied excited. The boys tried various poses… But Jason wasn’t happy with any one so far. “I need a pose in which you both look into the direction of the viewer of the painting. But at the same time I need that magical interaction between the two of you” Jason explained. Then Sander got an idea: “Remember over a year ago at the flat share when I was playing ‘pandemic’ with Milan and you returned from your Christmas shopping?”. Robbe smiled. How could he forget that, Sander called him ‘his angel’ when they hugged. A few moments later Robbe sat behind Sander with his arms wrapped around his boyfriend. “Perfect!” Jason exclaimed. 

Jason started with taking multiple pictures of the boys. Then he took a big canvas that had already been toned with a very dilute raw umber. This colour would help to increase the warmth of the upper layers of paint. He needed all the warmth in the colours he could get as that would accentuate the love between the two boys. He then started with a basic sketch in charcoal followed by a much more elaborate underpainting in raw umber. Robbe tilted Sander’s head backward so he could give him a kiss. Jason was irritated and snapped his fingers. “I need you to stay in pose” he said. “Sorry…” Robbe apologized. Willem and Sven started to laugh. The boys really couldn’t stop touching and kissing each other. They couldn’t even pose for a painting without irritating the painter by breaking the pose… 

11:17

Jason was ready with the underpainting that now had to dry a couple of days before he could start on the second layer of the painting, the modelling layer. When that was finished and thoroughly dried, he would apply a third and final layer, the detail layer.  
Robbe had left to the toilet so Sander took advantage of Robbe’s absence. “You think the painting could be done in time for our wedding? I would love to use it to decorate the venue?” Sander asked Jason. “Finished the painting for sure… I can put a retouching varnish over it… But it will be too early to put on a final varnish. But you can do that, right?” Jason said. “Sure” Sander replied. “I would generally recommend to wait at least one to two years before applying the final varnish” Jason said. 

Robbe returned. “You must burn with the desire to make some art?” Jason asked Sander. “Of course” Sander replied, “I did some drawing but I really would like to make a big piece again”. “If you want you can spray my bedroom” Jason said. “Oh no, we wouldn’t want to cover your art” Robbe interrupted. “Don’t worry…” Jason said, “Every few months I redo my bedroom. I don’t like the same art on my walls constantly. It would be a honour to have some of yours on my walls” Jason said. Sander smiled: “It will be my pleasure”. “Come” Sander said to Robbe. “Nooooo… You don’t want…” Robbe said. “Yes, you must help me” Sander said. “Noooo… I will screw up Jason’s walls” Robbe objected. “It’s not your first piece” Sander said thinking back of the night when he met Robbe for the first time. Sander employed his most powerful weapon. He looked at Robbe with his puppy eyes begging him to say yes. Of course, Robbe could never resist that and followed Sander like a puppy...

11:41

The boys were ready to start to spray. Sander took the laptop and pressed play on the song “Starman”. “So, what are we going to spray?” Robbe asked. Sander laughed: “Don’t you know, baby?”. Robbe gave Sander a confused look. “Starman” Sander said. “It’s Jason’s bedroom, not ours” Robbe objected. “Trust me, he will love it” Sander said with a wink. 

“I will sketch and you fill in with colour. Ok?” Sander asked. “I will screw up” Robbe objected. “Don’t worry baby. If you make a mistake, I will fix it. Trust me, it will be alright” Sander said and he lifted Robbe’s chin up with his finger before kissing him on the mouth. 

15:29

The boys were finally done spraying. Robbe had done well but he also had managed to get his hands and arms covered with paint… Sander had, had so much fun laughing every time he heard his boyfriend swear for getting paint on himself instead of the wall. “You look horrible” Sander teased. “You think?” Robbe said irritated and he surprised Sander by spraying paint on Sander’s arms. “heeeeeeey, what are you doing” a surprised Sander shouted. Robbe started to laugh. “You sneaky little…” Sander said but Robbe had pulled his own mask and Sander’s mask off and started to kiss his boyfriend. “Cleaning up?” Robbe asked. “Yes!” Sander said and he grabbed Robbe’s hand and pulled him to the bathroom for a hot shower. 

Sander removed Robbe’s clothing before stripping down himself. The two boys walked into the shower and turned on the hot water. Their naked bodies interlocked and they started to kiss. “The man of my life” Robbe whispered into Sander’s mouth. “My beautiful angel” Sander replied. Robbe moaned. Sander had such a powerful effect on him. 

**Tuesday January 12th, 2021**

13:02

Robbe had created a fake Instagram profile so he could check what was happening on his, Sander’s and their friends Instas. He was shocked by what he saw. Tens of thousands of ‘RIP’ messages. But that was not the worst of it… What broke his heart was seeing that all his friends – the broerrrs, Noor, Milan, Zoë, Senne, Jasmina, Jana, Luca, and Amber – had all posted the same black & white picture of him with Sander. Even Britt had posted the picture of Robbe and Sander with her apologies. 

Jens: [Broerrr, best friend, guy with a crush on me… I will miss your smile, your catchy laugh, the silly jokes you learned from Sander, skating together, making vlogs,… It was a real privilege to have you in my life. I’ve never believed in life after death… But I cannot continue to entertain that thought anymore… I do believe that you and Sander are there… Somewhere… Happy together. RIP my friend]

How could he make all these people belief that he was dead? Tears ran down his face… Sander had seen what had happened and wrapped his arms around Robbe. “

Robbe stayed with Sander in bed the whole afternoon. He didn't stop crying. Sander desperately tried to comfort his boyfriend but all his efforts were in vain. 

18:09

The two boys were cuddling each other in bed. A knock on the boys bedroom door. “In” Sander yelled. Jason walked in and said: “dinner’s ready”. “Thank you” Robbe said. Then Jason saw the wall of pictures and notes that the boys had built. He walked over and pointed to the picture of the Acting President of the US, Bill McDuff, and the mystery guy. “I know him…” Jason said. “Yes, he’s the Acting President of the US” Robbe said. “No, the other one…” Jason said. Robbe shot up from the bed. “Who is he?” Robbe demanded. Jason closed his eyes and started to think… He had seen that face once before. But were? Then Jason ran to the computer and he went to the homepage of a newspaper. He searched the archive for an article about the World Economic Forum from 2018. There mystery man was again, on a picture of the American delegation. 

Robbe want out to get Sven. When he returned with him he showed him the picture from the newspaper. “Great work” Sven said. He immediately mailed the news article to Jean-Philippe Hugot, the director of the General Directorate for Internal Security, and asked him to screen the list of Americans who attended the World Economic Forum in 2018. 

20:49

Sven got a reply back from Jean-Philippe Hugot.

Jean-Philippe Hugot: [We checked the list of Americans who attended the World Economic Forum in 2018 and one name stood out: David Bell. I checked with Deputy Director Eric Goodwin from the CIA and when he checked the social security database he found someone with the same name, date and place of birth as our David Bell but that guy is an automotive technician in the city of Great Falls, Montana]

“Wait!” Robbe said in disbelief, “This guy went through the TSA, then through Swiss immigration, and finally got into one of the most secure events in the world using a fake identity?”. “Just like we used fake diplomatic passports to get through the police checkpoint” Sven said. “You mean, the fake identity was created by an intelligence agency?” Sander asked. “Exactly!” Sven replied, “You won’t get into the World Economic Forum with a fake identity from the black market…”. 

22:23

Jean-Philippe Hugot: [I’ve talked to the former Minister of Economy and Finance of France who attended the World Economic Forum in 2018. He told me that he remembered our mystery guy because he acted strange. At such meetings all the main players know each other and so the people you don’t know tend to be assistants of the various business and government leaders who attend. But this guy did not act as an assistant because he talked with multiple high level individuals himself, including the current Prime Minister of Italy. But when our minister tried to talk to him he was completely ignored. Mystery man didn’t even reveal his name…] 

23:19

The two boys went to bed. It had been yet another emotionally difficult day… Robbe didn’t know how much more he could take… Sander was laying on his back while Robbe’s head rested on Sander’s chest. Sander was playing with Robbe’s hair. He loved playing with his boyfriends fluffy long brown hair. He kissed the top of his boyfriend’s head. Robbe rotated his head upwards to look at Sander. “I wouldn’t be able to do all of this without you…” he said. “I will always be there for you” Sander said while kissing the top of Robbe’s head. 

**Wednesday January 13th, 2021**

14:55

Sven got a message from Jean-Philippe Hugot: [Turn on TV news] 

Sven turned on the TV and called for the boys. “Today the Unites States experienced the worst terror attack since 9/11” the newsreader started. “About half an hour ago, at 08:17 local time, a powerful explosion wiped away half of the CIA headquarters at Langley, Virginia. We’re looking now at some of the first images recorded by a team from CNN. Law enforcement is keeping everyone at a large distance so it’s hard to judge the scale of the disaster but it must have been a very powerful explosion as windows were scattered by it several kilometres away…” the newsreader continued while images of the aftermath were shown. 

**Thursday January 14th, 2021**

02:00

The boys had stayed up as it had been announced that President McDuff was going to give a press conference at 20:00 local time about today’s events. 

“Good evening fellow Americans” President McDuff started his speech. “Today our country has been hit by a coward attack. A van filled with explosives destroyed most of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. We now have solid evidence proving that the mastermind behind this attack is the rebellious Russian general Smirnov and his conspirators. I therefore will ask congress to declare war on Russia!” President McDuff stated.

“Noooooo” Robbe yelled in agony. Robbe had dreamt of eliminating all future wars. Of creating lasting peace on earth. And now the two biggest armies in the world might start a war with each other? And there’s no way this war would remain confined to these two countries… If nothing happens soon to stop it, this we turn into WWIII… 

“We also have evidence that general Smirnov was behind the assassination of President Davis and Vice-President Burke. In this regard Russia got support from France who wanted revenge for the arrest attempt on Sander” President McDuff stated.  
“What???????” Robbe yelled in complete disbelief. He wanted to punch the TV in anger. 

“I pledge to the American people that we will hit back hard at the criminals who planned and executed these coward attacks on us. We will crush and destroy them! Justice will prevail! Good evening and God save the United States of America!” President McDuff finished. 

Sven immediately wrote a message to Jean-Philippe Hugot: [What is the likelihood that Congress will approve President McDuff’s declaration of war on Russia? Also, release the tapes of my phone call with President Davis on January 9th. The fact that President David promised to fire the District Prosecutor responsible for the arrest warrant will demonstrate our innocence. Do we know if Deputy Director of the CIA Goodwin has survived the attack? He might be the only person in the US government that we can trust…]  
Robbe was too much in distress to even notice anything that was currently happening around him but luckily Sander was paying more attention and saw Sven’s message. 

“I think we can also trust Senator Bill Watson” Sander said. Senator Bill Watson was a honest, integer, and hard working 41 year old senator from Massachusetts who had run for president before but lost from Davis. Many people believed that in the next election he could have defeated Davis and become the President of the United States. Bill had married his long-term boyfriend Mr. Jeff Adams just a few months ago. Hence, if he got elected he would be the first gay President in US history.

“Sorry, you’re right. He’s a good guy” Sven said with a little smile. 

02:12

Jean-Philippe Hugot: [The news hit like a bomb. Everyone has been called from bed to find solutions for this crisis. It’s hard to predict how Congress will act especially given that we do not know what ‘evidence’ the President is going to give them… But I think that a majority will require very strong evidence given the implications of declaring war on Russia. That said… If all of this was planned ahead of time by some conspiracy then they will have likely thought this through as well and must have cards behind their sleeves that we remain oblivious for… I will release the tapes. I have already had contact with Deputy Director Goodwin so he luckily survived the attack]

**Friday January 15th, 2021**

07:26

Robbe had not slept the whole night. Instead he had spent the night crying in Sander’s arms who tried his best to console his boyfriend. But a possible war between the US and Russia and Robbe being accused of being behind the murder of the US President and VP had broken the boy. He had reached a point where he just couldn’t take more bad news anymore. His life had turned in one big nightmare. All his friends and a part of his family thought that he was dead… Even Sander seemed unable to bring Robbe back from the darkness this time… Sander hadn’t slept either. He had spend the whole night holding Robbe in his arms trying to make the young boy feel safe and loved. Sander was exhausted – emotionally and physically from the lack of sleep. But he didn’t complain. Robbe had on multiple occasions done the same for him when he was in a dark phase. 

“I think we should call a doctor…” Jason told Sven, worried about Robbe’s condition. “We can’t…” Sven said with a sad face, “The reason he’s alive is because nobody knows where he is…”. “You think so?” Jason asked. “I am sure” Sven said.


	32. The clash of the titans!

**Friday January 15th, 2021**

09:18

Robbe had still not managed to sleep and consequently neither had Sander. He was really struggling to stay awake but he was not going to allow himself to fall asleep while Robbe was unable to sleep due to his depressed mood. So, Sander tried a new tactic. One that Robbe had invented to help Sander through depressive episodes. Robbe would sit behind Sander and wrap his arms around his boy. He would then start to whisper stories in his boyfriend’s ear. Stories about how all the Sander’s and Robbe’s in all universes would be happy together. 

Sander hence moved behind Robbe, wrapped his arms around Robbe and started to whisper… “In universe 5,188 Robbe is marrying his Sander today… Like is customary, they slept apart last night…” Sander started. “Oh…” Robbe said disappointed. “Don’t worry baby. They will sleep together in the honeymoon suite next night. But we’re running ahead of events… First, Robbe put on a white suit with a red rose as a boutonniere. When he was ready he walked out where a horse-drawn carriage was waiting for him. Imagine, four beautiful white horses that draw a beautiful white open carriage to transport Robbe to the city hall where all his friends and family are waiting for him… When he arrives, Sander is waiting for him. He’s also wearing a white suit and he had bleached his hair again…” Sander whispered. A tiny smile was starting to appear on Robbe’s face. 

“They walked together into the beautiful neo-gothic wedding hall... The hall was decorated with giant paintings in bright colours. They are made using the alla prima technique…” Sander continued. “What technique?” Robbe whispered, already half asleep. “Really?” Sander said slightly irritated. Had Robbe never paid attention during all his explanations? “Anyway… Robbe had chosen Milan and Zoë as his witnesses…” Sander continued. It had worked. He noticed that Robbe had fallen asleep with a smile on his face. Undoubtedly Robbe was going to dream the succession of the story… 

Sander carefully moved from behind Robbe and let the boys body slide down onto the matrass. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it up to cover Robbe’s body before laying down himself on his left side looking into the direction of Robbe. He snuggled close to Robbe and put his arm around his boy before closing his eyes. Nearly instantly Sander was asleep too. He too was going to dream about his story… 

19:36

Robbe finally woke up from his long but satisfying sleep. As he opened his eyes he immediately got trapped in the gaze of two emerald green eyes. He smiled and pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss. “Thank you baby” Robbe said, “I don’t know what I would do without you”. “Running like a horny dog behind Jens…” Sander teased. The boys often teased each other with variations of the same joke. They must have made the stars on Booking joke at least a dozen times by now… Robbe burst into laughing. But he know that Sander was right. If he had never met his boy he would probably still be running after Jens… Robbe wrapped his arms around Sander’s neck and pulled the boy on top of him. Their soft lips met and Robbe tasted Sander. It is the most delicious taste he has ever had in his life. Sander broke the kiss before peppering Robbe’s face and neck in small delicate kisses. Robbe chuckles. He grabs Sander’s hair with his hands and let it flow through his fingers while Sander keeps kissing him. “I love you so… so much” Robbe whispered in Sander’s ear. 

Their moment was broken by the growling of Robbe’s stomach. “Hungry Robin?” Sander asks. “Starving!” Robbe exclaims. “Me too…” Sander says and he gets out of bed. Robbe wants to get up but Sander stops him. “Stay in here. I’ll get something to eat” Sander says. Robbe smiles. Sander is always putting so much effort in to make sure his angel has everything he needs. He grabs a t-shirt. Unintentionally, or maybe who knows… intentionally, it is Robbe’s t-shirt that he puts on before heading out… 

20:09

Sander got back with a pizza ‘prosciutto di parma’. “Fatty Friday” Sander said with a smile. “And I assure you, it’s better than Jens his fries” he added with a wink. Robbe smiled, he loved his boyfriend’s cheesy humour. Also he was salivating at the pizza. “Thank you sweetie” Robbe said while looking in the most adorable way possible at Sander. Sander smiled as he saw Robbe looking all cute. He sat down on the bed and put the plate with the pizza between them. Robbe immediately grabbed a piece of it and instantly yelled “fock” as he had underestimated the temperature of the pizza that had just come from the oven. Sander smiled at his impatient boyfriend and offered Robbe a glass of soda. “I should learn to be more patient…” Robbe said. “Yeah…” Sander replied.  


“We have some time while the pizza cools down” Robbe said and he tried to kiss Sander but Sander pulled away. “If we go there, the pizza will be icy cold…” Sander said. Robbe looked all cute at Sander and the boy couldn’t resist… He decided that he was going to eat cold pizza… 

00:17

“We should try to sleep a bit…” Sander said. “Yeah…” Robbe replied. Robbe turned on his left side and Sander spooned him. He put his arm around his angel and snuggled up and close to Robbe. His lips touched Robbe’s neck and Sander placed a tiny goodnight kiss. “Sweet dreams baby” Sander whispered. “Sweet dreams my love” Robbe replied. 

**Saturday January 16th, 2021**

03:39

Sven’s laptop started to ring waking him, Willem, and Jason up. “Fock…” Sven said irritated, “Better be really important to wake me up at this ungodly hour…”. He took the laptop and saw that Charlotte, Robbe’s mother, was calling him. Sven pressed answer on the video call screen. He saw Charlotte and Jean-Philippe Hugot at the other side. “Yes…” Sven said. “Sorry for calling at this hour but our spy satellites have detected that the Carrier Strike Groups ten and twelve are crossing the Atlantic, presumably on their way to France…” Jean-Philippe said. “What????” Sven shouted. This was a sign that America might be preparing for war… 

Then suddenly the phone rang and Jean-Philippe answered the call. “I see… Thank you” he said before hanging up. “I just got more bad news” Jean-Philippe said, “Our spy satellites just saw that the current Nightwatch aircraft or Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post has taken to the skies from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska”. This confirmed in Sven’s mind his gut feeling that things were going to go the wrong way… “Activate Ruby Dice. Get Charlotte and Sander’s parents out of Paris” Sven instructed Jean-Philippe. “You think they might attack us?” Charlotte asked in horror. “No, I think the President will try to get a Congressional declaration of war first but he’s already moving all pieces ready to initiate the war once he gets his approval” Sven said.  


Sven called Jana’s mother. “Hello Michelle” Sven said. “Uh, who are you?” Jana’s mother said in surprise as she recognized the voice as Sven’s but he was dead. “No, I am not dead. That’s what everyone was made to belief… But I have no time to explain that now… I need you to talk to the Secretary-General of the UN and ask him to immediately call for an emergency session of the Security Council. The US is preparing for war and have already send two Carrier Strike Groups to cross the Atlantic and now the Nightwatch aircraft has taken to the skies…” Sven explained. This horrible revelation made the shock in Michelle’s head a thousand times worse… “Huh… Yes… I understand… I will immediately call the Secretary-General…” she managed to say. “Oh, maybe best send Jana to the countryside…” Sven said before ending the phone call. 

“Will the US not just veto any resolution that the Security Council tries to pass?” Charlotte asked. “Of course…” Sven said, “The goal is to pass the vote over to an Emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly. The easiest way to convene such a session is by having a vote in which at least 9 of the 15 members of the Security Council agree to call such an emergency General Assembly…” Sven explained. 

“What do we tell Robbe?” Willem interrupted. “I think we should let him sleep…” Sven said, clearly uncomfortable with what he just said. “Robbe was unable to sleep for two days when the President made that speech of attacking Russia and blaming us… I don’t think he can manage this now…” Sven said. Tears started to run down Charlotte’s face. “This is all Louis fault! Dumping this responsibility on the shoulders of our teenage son!” she shouted. “Tsssst…” Sven said, “Don’t shout or you’ll wake Robbe up”. “Sorry…” Charlotte said. 

But it was too late… Robbe’s head appeared from the bedroom door… “What’s going on?” he asked. “Nothing…” Sven lied. “You don’t have to protect me… There’s a reason you’re calling my mum and Jean-Philippe at 4 am…” Robbe said. Sven couldn’t do anything else than tell the truth… “It seems that the US is getting ready for war…” Sven said. He immediately added: “But Congress has not declared war and I believe the President won’t act without Congressional approval…”. “How likely is it that Congress will declare war?” Robbe demanded to know. “Don’t know… I was about to call Senator Watson to see what he knows…” Sven said, “But Jana’s mother will push for a resolution from the UN condemning the US if they start a war…”. 

A tear ran down Robbe’s face. Every day more bad news… Sander had in the meantime woken up and ended up in the living room searching for his boy. He immediately went to Robbe who buried his head into his boyfriend’s neck and cried on Sander’s shoulder. 

“Hello Senator. It’s Sven, the regent of France” Sven said. “Uh huh?” Senator Watson said in surprise. “Yes, I am not dead. But no time to talk about that now. Two Carrier Strike Groups are crossing the Atlantic and the Nightwatch aircraft has taken to the skies… It seems that the US is preparing for war…” Sven said. “Huh, this is the first I hear about this” Senator Watson said in shock. “So, the President has not yet asked Congress to declare war?” Sven asked. “No! Not at all!” Senator Watson said. “The US has always been good friends with France and I do not believe at all that France was behind the murder of the President and VP! You can rest assure that I will do anything within my abilities to stop this madness!” Senator Watson said very determined. 

11:16

Everyone was watching in tension at the public meeting of the UN Security Council. After some harsh debates in which the US once again accused Russia and France the Secretary General called for a vote on Resolution 2561 which condemned any attack of the US on either Russia or France. 13 of the 15 member states voted in favour of the resolution. Russia, surprisingly enough, rejected the resolution and the US vetoed it. “I ask the Security Council to call for an Emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly” Jana’s mother said. Again all states except for the US and Russia voted in favour but such a call could not be vetoed. 

21:01

Robbe had only slept about three hours last night and Sander was not going to allow his boy to go another night without sleep. Robbe was sitting in the sofa playing a game on his laptop. Suddenly without warning Sander pushed his arms underneath Robbe and lifted the smaller boy from the sofa. Robbe giggled. “You need sleep baby” Sander said. Robbe kept giggling. He loved how concerned Sander was for his wellbeing. 

A few moments later Sander had carried Robbe to the bedroom and put him down on the bed. Robbe quickly stripped down and Sander also started to strip down. Sander climbed into the bed and snuggled close to Robbe. Robbe turned his body to face Sander and after staring at his boyfriend for a short moment he went in for a kiss. Robbe broke the kiss and said: “You’re the best boyfriend imaginable. I am so lucky to have you in my life. I love you so much”. These words sounded like the most beautiful music imaginable to Sander’s ears and he went in to kiss Robbe again while he let his right hand flow through Robbe’s fluffy brown hair. 

Suddenly, Robbe moved on top of Sander. “What are you doing?” Sander joked thinking back of their first day together hugging and kissing at the flat share. “Shut up…” Robbe said in a joking way. Sander smiled. This was THEIR humour. Robbe started to place hickeys on Sander’s neck before moving down to Sander’s sensitive nipples. Sander started to moan. Robbe kept going further down… “Robbe… Robbe… Robbe…” Sander started to repeat as his eyes rolled back and his fists clamped onto the bedsheet. 

**Sunday January 17th, 2021**

05:00

The boys had woken up early to watch the UN meeting. Ambassadors from all countries on earth assembled in the General Assembly Hall of the UN. “You think the General Assembly will vote a resolution against war?” Robbe asked. “Yes, but it will take days… If not weeks… There’s a risk that war erupts before the issue has come to a final vote…” Sven admitted. Robbe gave Sven a sad look. In return Sven grabbed Robbe’s hand and said: “As the English philosopher John Stuart Mill said: Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. We’re going to do everything possible to avoid war! Believe me!”. Sander wrapped his arm around Robbe’s shoulders and said: “I am sure we will find a way to prevent war…”. Robbe put his head on Sander’s shoulders. It made him feel safe. 

15:41

Jean-Philippe called Sven. “This morning the Russian businessman Dmitry Vadic was found murdered in his Paris apartment…” Jean-Philippe said. “That’s sad but we don’t know him…” Sven said. “But you will be interested in what the police found in his apartment. Behind a one-way mirror they found a hidden camera and audio recording installation and hidden in a hollowed out book in his library they found a hard drive that contained the recordings” Jean-Philippe said. “So what?” Robbe asked, “That’s police business”. “No, it’s national security business…” Jean-Philippe said, “In the meetings that he had recorded they discussed a plot to start World War III… But It’s better if you watch the recordings yourself… I’ll send it to you…”.

A few moments later Sven received a video file. He clicked on play…

The boys watched how the mystery man from the photo, the minister of defence of Russia, and the minister of justice of Italy, who is currently the Italian PM sit around the table together with another person that they don’t know but guess must be Dmitry Vadic. Then another person came in and sat down at the table… The boys couldn’t believe their eyes! This couldn’t be true! This had to be a dream! A nightmare! Sander tried to comfort Robbe by putting his hand on Robbe’s back but Robbe pushed him away in anger and ran away to the bedroom. He smashed the door shut in full force and cries of anger and sadness could be heard coming from the bedroom…


	33. The Vadic affaire

**Sunday January 17th, 2021**

15:53

While Robbe was still ranging in the bedroom the other boys were watching in disbelief at the screen. Princess Louise, Robbe’s aunt, sat down at the table. 

“Is everything set for operation terror?” Mr. Vadic asked. “Yes, it will happen in three days. I strongly recommend you not to take flight 1719…” Louise said with a laugh. “Louise was behind the hijacking of flight 1719!” Sven exclaimed in anger. “You think this will crack Robbe?” the minister of justice of Italy asked. “I know my nephew!” Louise said confidently. “Based on my intel, as long as Sander is around Robbe will pull through anything…” the Russian minister of defence said. “Sander is being taken care of… When I am done with him he will be in an institution for a very long time…” Louise said. Those words hit Sander like a sledgehammer… A woman who he thought of as a friend… The boys had been backstabbed by the person from which they had least expected it… Tears ran down Sander’s face… Sven tried to comfort Sander by putting his hand on Sander’s shoulder but the boy stood up and walked to the bedroom. 

“How?” Mr. Vadic asked. “Marie is going to bribe Britt to tell in the media that Robbe physically abused Sander after their first date… In addition, I am going to make it public that Sander got arrested by the police after they caught him spraying. A real story but with some alternative facts. Rather than Sander standing up against the racist agents who abused his Congolese friend I am going to bring out that he was alone and got arrested for starting to insult and resist the officers” Louise explained. “Marie knows about our plan?” the mystery guy shouted in horror. “Relax! I am not crazy…” Louise said, “She’s a pawn to be used who knows nothing but will get all the blame if things go wrong…”. 

“What do we do if Robbe stays put?” the Russian minister of defence asked. “Well a foreign mission to silicon valley is already planed for the beginning of 2021…” Louise said. “In that case we can start operation Red Spring and eliminate the American President and VP when Robbe is in the US. As France will be blamed, US police can arrest Robbe…” Louise added. “I am just concerned that General McDuff’s men will refuse to shoot down Air Force One…” the Russian minister of defence said. “They won’t know it’s Air Force One… They will be told that it is a plane that was stolen by terrorists who intended to use it to commit an attack on Washington…” the mystery guy said. 

Sven mailed Director Goodwin: [Do you have any idea who the guy on the picture in the attachment is? And do you know anything about “Red Spring”?] 

16:14

Sven’s phone rang. It was director Goodwin of the CIA. “Hello regent” Mr. Goodwin said, “The guy on the picture is Tom Brandt, the director of the ‘Foreign Peace Initiative’ a covert CIA division tasked with facilitating regime change in hostile nations… Red Spring refers to a program of this division from the Cold War. The goal was to change the leadership of the Soviet Union. Eliminate the hardliners and replace them with new leaders who are more friendly towards the US… Why do you ask?”. “I think that Tom executed Red Spring against the US government…” Sven said. “You mean that you think that President Davis and Vice-President Burke were murdered by Tom?” Mr. Goodwin asked. “I don’t think… I have the hard evidence…” Sven answered. It was silent on the other side of the line. Mr. Goodwin was shocked by the revelation. “I’ll send you the video with the evidence” Sven said. “Huh, thank you…” Mr. Goodwin said. 

17:19

Sven went to the bedroom to check up on the boys. He found the two boys intertwined in bed. It’s so cute to watch the boys caring for each other. 

“What do we do now?” Robbe asked, still hazy from what he had learned one hour and a half ago. “Well, we should share it with the FBI, the American Attorney-General, the Italian and Russian public prosecutors,… and of course our own” Sven said. “Hmmm, ok…” Robbe said, “So, they will get arrested?”. “Yes, that’s the idea…” Sven said, “And we should make the video public. The people have a right to know the truth. We want to lead a honest and open government”. “Making the video public will warn the conspirators that who we do not yet know about and allow them to go into hiding or escape to countries that don’t extradite criminals…” Robbe said. “Yes, normally the police would wait until they have uncovered the whole conspiracy before arresting all those involved simultaneously. However, with every minute that passes the chance that World War III erupts unexpectedly increases and so waiting would now be too dangerous… Some conspirators may escape the justice system… But that doesn’t weigh up against the risk of war…” Sven explained. Robbe nodded. 

22:22

“They tried to break us apart but they failed…” Robbe said while looking into Sander’s eyes. “They will always fail! You’re mine and I never letting you go” Robbe continued. Sander smiled. He was so incredibly lucky to have Robbe in his life. He kissed Robbe while he started to play with his boyfriends hair with his right hand. Robbe giggled. “I love you Robin. So incredibly much. I can’t imagine a life without you…” Sander said. A tear ran down Robbe’s cheek. “What’s wrong?” Sander asked while he wiped the tear away. “Nothing, it’s a tear of happiness. You give me life” Robbe said. Sander pressed his lips firmly on Robbe’s to physically express his love. 

**Monday January 18th, 2021**

09:35

The boys were packing their stuff to go back to Paris. “You should come and stay over with us. Visit all the amazing art museums in Paris” Sven told Jason. Sander gave Sven as disapproving look to remind him that Jason doesn’t like going into public places. Despite his enormous love for the arts, Jason had never in his life visited a single museum. He had studied all master pieces by looking at high resolution pictures on his computer screen. “I am sure we can arrange a private tour after closing hours…” Sven clarified. “That would be amazing” Jason exclaimed with a broad smile. 

The boys had each chosen one or more paintings from Jason’s oeuvre. Sven handed a pile of banknotes to Jason. “That’s too much…” Jason exclaimed. “Your pieces are worth every cent” Sven said with a smile. Jason then handed the boys their portrait. It was an absolute masterpiece. Somehow Jason had succeeded to capture the boys love on the canvas. It was as mysterious as the smile of the Mona Lisa. Sven went back in his pocket but Jason stopped him: “No, that’s a gift! Really! I can’t accept money for it!”. “Thank you so much Jason!” Robbe said with the broadest smile. “It was my pleasure…” Jason said, “All artists dream about being able to create a piece that unleashes powerful emotions in everyone who looks at it… The boys gave me the opportunity to make such a work…”. “It is, if I may say, the best piece I’ve ever made… Thanks to the subject…” Jason said proudly. “Da Vinci would be jealous” Sven said. He was not joking, he meant what he said. 

10:06

There was one thing that the boys wanted to do while they were still ‘officially dead’. Robbe had called Senne to pick him and Sander up from Jason’s apartment. They didn’t want anyone to recognize them yet, as they wanted to do something first without any press attention. So, they boys dressed inconspicuously. Both put on a hoodie to cover their heads and Robbe additionally used a beanie to hide his fluffy brown hair. Sander on the other hand did not need to hide his hair as everyone knew him with bleached hair but now he was a brunette. Robbe put on a bright blue jacket and Sander wore a red jacket. Additionally, Sander replaced his Dr. Martens shoes with sneakers. They looked at each other and were satisfied that nobody would recognize them. 

10:29

The car arrived at the destination. Sander’s mood had clearly become more sad. Robbe grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and asked: “You’re OK?”. “Yes” Sander simply replied. He was not OK. Robbe noticed that by the way Sander behaved. The boys got out of the car and started to walk together. Robbe started to rub his boyfriends back with his hand to offer some emotional support. Moments later the boys arrived at their destination and by now a tear ran down Sander’s cheek.

HSH Princess Lisa de Lorraine  
2004-2011

Robbe grabbed Sander’s hand and squeezed it to give emotional support to his boyfriend. Sander bended down without letting go of Robbe’s hand and put the flowers that Jason had bought on his sister’s grave. He then put his hand palm on the icy cold granite tombstone. The cold and the emotion caused a shiver to travel through his body and more tears started to roll down his cheeks. Robbe squatted down and started to rub the back of Sander. Sander came back up and looked around before asking: “Why do people have to die? Why all this pain in the world? All these people who lost their children, siblings, parents, grandparents, friends,… Why? All the dreams and ambitions that remain unfulfilled. Maybe someone here had cured cancer if he or she hadn’t died… People don’t deserve to go into oblivion… Forever robbed from life and everything that is beautiful and good…”. By now Robbe was crying too. He didn’t know what to say. Death is so unfair. All he could do was to wrap his arm over his boyfriend’s shoulder to comfort him. Sander turned towards Robbe and buried his face in his boyfriends neck. Robbe’s hand moved to the back of Sander’s head and the boys stayed like that for several minutes.

“We should go…” Sander said. “If you want…” Robbe replied. Robbe was unsure if Sander wanted to leave or if he just was leaving for Robbe’s sake. “Yes…” Sander said. He didn’t want to be at the graveyard. He had come as he felt an obligation to visit his sister but he really preferred to remember her from his memories, the drawings he had made of her, her toys that he had still kept,… All the lovely and fun memories he had from when they were children. Rather than remembering her by looking at the icy cold gravestone. That coldness only brought sadness… 

12:09

Now it was time to reveal to the world that they were actually still alive. But the boys felt that they should inform their friends in person… So, agents had been sent to the school to ask all of their friends to come to the flat share. All their friends were curious about what was going on… Maybe the murderers of Robbe and Sander had been identified and the French authorities wanted to inform them first before making it public? 

All Robbe and Sander’s friends arrived at the flat share: the broerrrs, Noor, Zoë, Milan, Amber, Luca, Yasmina, Kato, and Sander’s friends from the academy. 

They were all waiting in the living room when the door opened and Senne walked in. “Can I have your attention!” Senne yelled. The talking died down and everyone was watching in his direction. Senne opened the door and… Everyone’s mouth fell open as the boys walked in. Jens immediately ran over and hugged Robbe. “You’re alive! You’re alive! I’ve missed you so much…” Jens shouted happily. In the meantime also the other broerrrs, Zoë, and Milan had walked over and started to hug the boys. “What happened? We all thought you were…” Milan asked. “I am so sorry…” Sven said, “But the people who killed the American President also tried to kill us. We only survived because we had jumped out of the plane before the missile hit… We had to play dead in order to survive… We could not let anyone know that we were alive because all electronic communication could be compromised and all your houses were likely under surveillance by those who wanted to kill us…”. “What matters is that you’re alive…” Zoë said as she hugged the boys. “Being alive is more fun than being dead, I guess…” Aaron said. Sander pulled up his eyebrows. Aaron sometimes said the weirdest things. “I mean… I am glad you’re alive” Aaron said. “What’s up?” Moyo said while giving Robbe and Sander a fist bump. 

16:03

The boys had in the meantime returned to the Élysée palace in Paris. There they had been reunited with their parents. 

Sven, the boys, and their parents were sitting in the salon together when Sven’s phone rang. “Hello… Yes… I see… Thank you” Sven said. “Princess Louise has just been arrested” Sven announced. It’s maybe weird to cheer when a family member gets arrested but her crimes were so despicable that everyone was happy with the news. Sven turned on the TV knowing that all conspirators would be arrested at this very moment. “Our US correspondent just watched dozens of FBI agents entering the White House... We’re unsure about what is going on… Ok, we have live footage from our team at the White House…” the newsreader said. “As you can see behind me there are dozens of police cars on the White House terrain… It looks like agents are exiting the White House… It looks like President McDuff is walking with them… It looks like… OMG!!! President McDuff is handcuffed!!!! I repeat the US President is handcuffed!!! The president is put into the back of a police car! Never before has an acting president of the US been arrested…” the US correspondent was reporting in shock. “Sorry to interrupt you…” the newsreader said, “But we are hearing unconfirmed reports that just minutes ago the Italian Prime Minister was arrested…”. 

Sander announced on Instagram to the world that he and Robbe were still alive. He posted a picture of the two of them together. He with his arm around Robbe’s shoulder’s. As caption he used a modified song text from Queen.

[Here we are, born to be kings  
We're the princes of the multiverse  
Here we belong, fighting to survive  
In a world with the darkest powers]

17:00

A press conference had been called at the Élysée. 

“Good afternoon mesdames et messieurs. As you all know by now, this afternoon around 3 PM the Acting President of the US, the current Italian Prime Minister, and Princess Louise were all arrested. This is the culmination of an investigation lead by the General Directorate for Internal Security here in France in which we discovered an international conspiracy to overthrew the democratically elected governments of France, the United States, Italy, and Russia. The list of crimes committed by these individuals is long and includes the hijacking of flight 1719, the murder of President Davis and Vice-President Burke, shooting down Air Force one as well as the French government plane that carried myself and the King back from our trade mission, the murder of Minister Thibault, the murder of the former Italian Prime Minister, as well as…” Sven said before pausing for a second, “the conspiracy to start World War III”. This revelation send a shock through the room... 

“Questions?” Sven asked. Of course there were questions… All journalists raised their hands. “The lady from France TV” Sven said. “Are you saying that Princess Louise was involved in a plot to start World War III?” the reporter asked. “Sadly… Yes” Sven replied. “Why were they trying to start World War III?” a reporter shouted. “We don’t yet know the answer to that question…” Sven said. Multiple other reporters started to shout questions… “Please one by one” Sven said. “The gentleman from ‘The insight’” Sven said. “So, if I understood correct the Russian generals who took over power in Russia were also involved in this plot?” the reporter asked. “Yes, general Smirnov and his accomplices were part of this global plot” Sven answered. “So, what will happen in Russia?” the reporter asked. “General Smirnov and his accomplices sit in Moscow with their own army of at least 120,000 strong. Consequently, the police couldn’t just arrest them… The international community will try to work to resolve this situation peacefully…” Sven said. “That’s all for now…” Sven said and he walked away while journalists kept yelling more questions. 

18:36

The boys and Sven were sitting in the salon talking about events. “How is little Sander doing?” Robbe asked. “He’s currently cared for at an orphanage. Here’s a picture of him…” Sven said while handing Robbe a picture of the baby. Robbe looked at the picture and for an unknown reason that he couldn’t explain he felt a connection to the boy. Something he had only ever felt with Sander. He wanted to care for the little one… Sander noticed his boyfriend’s facial expression when looking at the picture so he leaned over to look at the picture. Sander saw HIS son. He didn’t know why he felt like that but he knew for sure that the baby was his son. The two boys said in concert: “I want to adopt him”. Shocked that the other had said the same words they looked at each other and corrected themselves: “We want to adopt him”. 

“I know you knew his mother and you feel some kind of duty to care for him as you feel responsible for her death…” Sven said. “No!” Robbe said, “It’s not out of duty…”. “This child is our son” Sander said, “I can’t explain why… It doesn’t make sense… But I just know it’s true…”. Sven was completely puzzled by the boys behaviour.


	34. Little Sander

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just noticed that due to a careless copy paste mistake for several chapters, I have accidentally been writing the year as 2020 while we are obviously in 2021 in this story. I’ve corrected it. My apologies for this mistake. 
> 
> In the notes at the end of this chapter I will explain the reason for the boys eagerness to adopt little Sander.

**Wednesday January 20th, 2021**

08:43

“Where’s Robbe?” Sven wondered. Robbe was already 13 minutes late for his morning briefing and everyone was waiting for him in his office. “Wait here” Sven instructed all the people present, “I am going to check where the King is…”. 

As Sven was walking through the hallways he spotted Willem III. “Do you know where the King is?” Sven asked. “Still in bed, Regent…” Willem replied, “He’s crying…”. “Oh…” Sven said surprised and sad. “Why?” he asked. “No clue… I didn’t want to disturb his majesty as Sander was with him…” Willem III replied. 

Sven made his way to Robbe and Sander’s bedroom and he found the two boys in bed crying in each other’s arms. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Sven asked as he crouched down in front of the boys. “The adoption agency has denied Sander’s request to adopt little Sander because he’s under 28 years old, the legal limit to be allowed to adopt…” Robbe said. 

Sven was a bit annoyed at hearing this. The boys went behind his back. “Why didn’t you check with the legal counsel first?” Sven asked. “Well… We didn’t think there would be any problems as Sander is an adult and we have a stable household to raise a child…” Robbe said. “Never… ever… do things without consulting our legal team” Sven said firmly. “I am sorry to be so insensitive but as head of state you do not have a private life. Everything you do, you do as King, as part of the French government… That includes adoption, marriage, inheritance, etcetera” Sven explained. 

“I am sure that little Sander will be placed into the care of a loving family…” Sven tried to comfort Robbe. But instead of comfort, Sven’s remark caused anger in the small boy. “Noooo!” Robbe yelled, “Little Sander is OUR son”. This surprised Sven. The boys had never met little Sander. They had just seen a picture of the baby. How could they care so much about a child that they had never met? “I don’t know why…” Sander said with tears in his eyes, “But for some inexplicable reason we both have this deep connection with the baby… As if he is our biological son…”. 

“Are you certain you want to adopt little Sander?” Sven asked the boys. They nodded. “It’s a big responsibility and time commitment to care for a child at the age of just 17 and 19…” Sven continued. “We’re 100% committed to raising this child” Sander said confidently. Sven could see that the boys meant it. “Ok, I will see what can be done…” Sven said. 

10:11

Like on many days so too today, Robbe had chosen to study in Sander’s art studio. While one may think that the presence of the other boy would only lead to distractions, and well occasionally it did…, mostly it helped them to focus. The presence of the other boy created a safe space in their minds where they could drop all their worries… The mere presence of the other boy in the same room gave support if they were struggling. If Robbe was struggling with a difficult problem in his homework and grew frustrated, he would simply look up at Sander and the sight would relax him and give him the energy to try harder… And of course, Robbe was Sander’s muse so his presence only increased Sander’s artistic inspiration and vigour. 

However, Robbe noticed that something was bothering Sander. He seemed unable to focus on the drawing that he was making. Robbe stood up and walked over to the desk where Sander was seated. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” Robbe asked while wrapping his arms around his seated boyfriend. “Nothing…” Sander lied. “Sander” Robbe said slightly annoyed. “It’s just… Look I really… really want to care for little Sander but what if… if I get a meltdown again…” Sander said with a trembling voice. “Sander, you will be an amazing dad! The best one in the whole world!” Robbe said, “And I will be there too to care for our son. As will my mother and your parents…”. “Thank you” Sander said with a smile. His mind was already relieved by Robbe’s words. 

“I can already see the two of you here together drawing…” Robbe said jokingly. “You should better join us…” Sander teased, “Your skills…”. “What?” Robbe faked indignation. “Well like for example the dick pic you draw for Aaron last year…” Sander teased. “Like you can make beautiful art using a touchpad on a MacBook…” Robbe teased back. “Yes, I can!” Sander said arrogantly. Robbe rolled his eyes. “What? Do I have to prove it?” Sander asked. Robbe ignored Sander’s question. “Ok, we’ll have a competition… You against me… Best drawing wins… We’ll ask Sven without revealing who drew what to judge…” Sander proposed. “What do I get when you lose?” Robbe asked. “Better ask what you need to give me, baby! As I will win…” Sander teased. “Loser pays dinner” Robbe said. “Ok, deal!” Sander replied. The boys got their Macs and started drawing. 

11:24

The boys got to Sven with the printed version of the two drawings to judge which one was best. “Hmmm, I like the horse and rider… But the landscape is kind of rudimentary…” Sven said about the first drawing. “The sea sight is well done… But the sea has an unnatural blue colour… And perspective is off… The people are too large compared to the size of the beach house…” Sven said about the second drawing. “In my opinion the first drawing is best…” Sven said. 

“I won!” Sander exclaimed about his drawing that depicted his memory of his and Robbe’s horse ride during the Christmas holiday. Robbe clearly was disappointed. He had tried so hard to defeat his boyfriend with his drawing of the beach holiday where he met Sander for the first time. “Pizza OK for this evening?” Robbe reluctantly asked. “Pizza???” Sander asked disappointed, “I fancy a starter of lobster, followed by wagyu steak with white truffle flavoured puree as a main with a bottle of Chateau Petrus”. “You mean a Hawaiian pizza with a bottle of Chateau cola?” Robbe teased back. Sander erupted in a laugh, “Yes, pizza and cola is fine…”. 

11:55

Sven met with the legal counsel to discuss the options left… “Are they certain about their desire to…” the lawyer started. Sven interrupted: “No doubt possible… They are 100% committed”. “Ok well… You see legally we can’t do anything… The law is clear. To adopt one must be over 28 years of age… However… If his majesty would say, decide to try to adopt a child in 11 years when he meets all the criteria set forth in the adoption law he would still run into a problem… Under ancient law the heir to the throne of France was the closest male relative of King Hugh Capet who reigned from 987 to 996. When the French Republic fell, the French Congress amended to constitution to install the monarchy back and they codified this ancient law, in a slightly modified version, in the current constitution. The current constitution says that the closest blood relative of Hugh Capet is King of France. In contrast to the ancient law, there is no longer any gender discrimination but because Congress knew that the King was gay they explicitly added blood relative to prevent an adopted child from inheriting the throne. 

However, little Sander has no parents, he’s a so called pupilles de l'État (child of the state) and as such he can only be adopted through the full adoption process, the so called plenary adoption. In contrast to the so called simple adoption, this plenary adoption makes the child indistinguishable from a natural born child of the adopted parents including a new birth certificate listing the adopted parents as natural parents. As you can see this would conflict with the constitution. According to the adoption law, little Sander should, if adopted through the plenary adoption process, be heir to the throne of France. But the constitution demands that only BLOOD relatives of Hugh Capet can claim a right to the throne… This causes a conflict between the adoption law and the constitution… So, I think we can make the argument that due to this conflict Parliament should create a new adoption law that applies solely to adoption by the King of France…” the lawyer explained. 

Sven smiled. “That’s a genius legal argument…” he said, “I definitely think we have a good chance to convince Parliament with this argument”. 

23:18

“Come!” Sander said to Robbe as he stood up. “What are we going to do?” Robbe questioned. “Sleeping” Sander said with a wink. “Oké” Robbe said in an excited voice. He quickly remembered that Sven was also sitting in the living room so his face become red. Hopefully Sven did not understand what the boys ‘coded communication’ actually meant. Sander noticed the change of colour on Robbe’s face and he found it funny that after so long Robbe still felt so uncomfortable to talk about his sexuality with others. Though, he had in the last year become fully comfortable with discussing everything, including his sexual desires, with Sander. 

The boys ran hand in hand on the staircase towards their bedroom. Once inside Sander pushed Robbe against the wall and started to kiss him. Robbe giggled. He loved it when Sander acted dominant like this. He cupped his boyfriend’s face with his hands while he kept kissing Sander. Sander broke this kiss for a moment and whispered “You’re the man of my life. I love you so much”. Before going in for more kisses… 

Sander gradually pulled Robbe to bed and moments later the two boys fell giggling into bed. They started to remove each other’s clothing… Robbe removed Sander’s t-shirt and admired his beautiful body. In the meantime Sander had also pulled off Robbe’s t-shirt and he started to give featherlight kisses on Robbe’s exposed neck and collarbone. Sander inhaled deeply and the delicious smell of his boyfriends perfume tingled all of the smell receptors in his nose. 

Suddenly, Sander pushed Robbe down and went laying on top of him. Robbe could feel the warmth of Sander’s naked body on top of his own. He moaned. “I need you…” Robbe whispered in Sander’s ear driving the older boy insane. The boys fingers interlocked as they kept kissing each other. Sander broke the kiss for a few seconds while pulling his head upwards so he could look at his angel’s face. Robbe upon noticing that Sander had pulled away opened his eyes… Green eyes met brown eyes and sparks of love filled the room. “You’re so beautiful” Robbe whispered. He meant it, he had never in his life seen a boy a beautiful as Sander. “Charmer” Sander teased. 

It would be nearly one o’clock before the two boys, exhaustedly, fell asleep… 

**Thursday January 21th, 2021**

10:32

“I just got the result of a poll done among 3,000 French citizens” Sven said, “A whopping 73% thinks that Robbe is doing a great job”. Robbe smiled. “Then I also have a bit of a less serious poll done by ‘Teenage magazine’. Readers were asked who the hottest male Royal is… Prince Harry ended up on the 8th place… Robbe… second” Sven said. “Focking nice!” Robbe said, “Who’s number one?”. “Who do you think?” Sven teased. “Hmmm, don’t know…” Robbe replied. “Sander is number one” Sven exclaimed. “Fake news!” Sander said dryly, “Robbe is number one”. “You’re the king of modesty” Robbe said while pulling Sander in for a kiss. 

“Do we have news on general McDuff and mystery man Tom Brandt?” Robbe asked. McDuff had stolen a fighter jet and taken off before the police could arrest him. “Spy satellites have found the jet back in Cuba…” Sven said, “And as you know, Cuba and the US have no extradition agreement…”. “Things are even worse with Tom… Preliminary intelligence says that he succeeded, through his numerous false passports, to escape to Iran… US and Iranian relations are currently at a historical low and Tom has bucketloads of highly secretive information that he can trade with the Iranian government… However, both men are now number 1 and 2 of Interpol’s Most Wanted list…” Sven explained. 

“How is Jean doing?” Robbe asked next. “Well… Given the circumstances… He’s doing well…” Sven said, “I had him taken to a safe house before his mother got arrested”. “Good” Robbe replied, “I believe he was completely oblivious to her actions and he doesn’t deserve to be punished for hers…”. “I agree, I am sure that he didn’t know anything about what his mother was up to… And in fact he seems to have bettered his life after his mum was arrested. I feared that he would just end up in a nonending drug and alcohol craze… But he hasn’t drunk or used drugs since…” Sven explained. “Question remains how he will ever be able to live a normal life? I am afraid that the actions of his mother will always be hold against him… Possibly, we should consider giving him a new identity… But if we do that then we also exclude him from the family… We can’t invite him over anymore as that would blow his new identity…” Sven explained. Robbe looked sad. How could a mother do that to her own son? Sven noticed the sadness in Robbe’s eyes so he added: “We can keep him hidden for now and have him come out in a while when the public attention has gone down and see how things go… Changing his identity should be a last resort if people don’t stop hating him…”. 

“I want to go and visit her” Robbe said shocking everyone. “No!” Sven and Sander both exclaimed. Sander knew the pain his angel would experience when he would sit face to face with the woman who blew up his airplane killing all these people that he had grown to be friends with. She killed the mother of little Sander! “My head has been Chernobyl for the last four days… I cannot understand why she wanted to start World War III… I must know…” Robbe said. It was as if he hoped that miraculously she would provide him with a justified reason for her actions… Robbe could not believe that someone would try to start World War III just for power. Nobody could be that evil… Sander could see the pain in Robbe’s eyes. “I understand” Sven said, “But I am afraid that talking to her will not give you peace of mind…”. “I agree with Sven” Sander said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go to her…”. Robbe threw his eyes downwards… “Oh sweetie” Sander said while placing his hand on Robbe’s back. Robbe placed his head on Sander’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those who have been reading the “Little Sander” story line might even have guessed why the boys feel this unusual connection to the baby that they had never met… The baby was Sander. In the multiverse there are an infinite number of Sander’s and Robbe’s. Some reside in parallel spatial dimensions while others, like little Sander, live in a different place in the time dimension. Little Sander is just another version of Sander within the multiverse born 19 years and 8 months after Sander. And just like every version has slight differences (e.g. being together in the same position in the same room but with yellow curtains) so too little Sander shows a slight differences (e.g. he has brown eyes). 
> 
> I know that this stretches the many world hypothesis of quantum mechanics beyond… well (probably) reality but the idea of making the concept that there are an infinite number of Robbe and Sander’s out there, who are all happy together, more concrete was too appealing to ignore… Oeps, I hence already revealed to you that in 16 or so years little Sander will find his Robbe too… 😉 
> 
> I was inspired about the idea of the boys adopting a child by the fanfic “Carrying the Moon” from “rust_and_stardust”. Recommended reading! 
> 
> I also recommend reading “C'mon Robbe” by szamsson. This fic delves into Robbe’s discomfort in talking with the broerrrs about his sex life.


	35. The painful truth

**Thursday January 21th, 2021**

21:34

The boys were sitting in the salon watching TV. “It’s boring… Can’t we do something fun?” Sander whispered into Robbe’s ear. “I know your definition of fun” Robbe whispered back with a wink. “You’ve never complained…” Sander teased back. Suddenly Robbe spoke with a raised voice: “Me and Sander are tired. We’re going to head off to bed. Goodnight everyone!”. “Goodnight Robbe, Goodnight Sander” Sven and Charlotte said in concert. 

21:42

The boys entered the bedroom and Sander immediately tried to take off his t-shirt. “Don’t undress” Robbe instructed. “Why not???” Sander said confused. “We’re heading out” Robbe replied. “Wait, what??? Where???” Sander asked. “To have fun” Robbe smirkingly replied. “Yeah, fun with security agents around us…” Sander said with a sigh. “Nope” Robbe said and he got two visitor badges from his desk. “Stole these this morning” Robbe said proudly, boasting his mischievous side into Sander’s face. “You little rebel” Sander stated causing Robbe to smile. 

A few moments later the boys had put on wigs and atypical clothing. Sander had put on glasses and Robbe had put on a fake moustache. They looked at each other and were pleased by what they saw. Nobody would recognize them in this disguise. Robbe picked up his backpack and put it on his back. They quickly put on their visitor badges and left the bedroom. 

21:55

Robbe and Sander walked past the security desk but just as the boys heaved a sigh of relief they heard a voice… “Wait a second!” the guard yelled, “Visitor badges must be returned before leaving!”. “Sorry” Robbe uttered, trying his best to make his voice sound different from his real voice. Both boys gave off their badges and quickly walked out. “It worked!” Robbe said excitedly. “So now what?” Sander asked. “Come!” Robbe instructed. “What are we going to do?” Sander asked again. “Surprise” Robbe said. 

“Brrrrr… It’s really cold” Sander complained. He was visibly shivering and large plumes of water vapor condensed in the air from his breath. But no matter how cold Sander felt he wouldn’t want to trade this moment for a cosy warm room in the Elysée. Being alone with Robbe was worth any sacrifice. Sander was happy to be with his boy every day but the Élysée felt like a gilded cage… And Sander really was like a bird, he wanted to be free… He wanted to run through the fields in the summer with Robbe… Lay down in the parc and watch the stars with his boyfriend… Go out and make art… But with Robbe being King they always had security agents with them when going out. Having people watch you really takes the joy out of even the simplest of things like running through the fields or having a romantic picknick. 

Robbe opened his backpack and got Sander’s beanie and gloves out. “Thank you baby” Sander said delighted. Sander removed his wig and placed his beanie on his head before putting on his black woollen gloves. The beanie and gloves instantly decreased the sharp cold that was piercing his body as thousands of steel blades. He really had the best boyfriend imaginable. Robbe always made sure that Sander was cared for. 

After a short walk the boys arrived at the Metro station “Madelaine”. “Come” Robbe instructed as he walked into the metro. They were in time for the last metro of the day. Sander looked at the map on the side wall of the metro carriage to try to figure out where Robbe was taking him. Line 14 pretty much follows the river Seine and terminates at the Olympiades. “Curious and impatient” Robbe teased as he noticed how Sander’s brain was trying to work out where they were going. 

22:32

The metro stopped at “Parc de Bercy” and Robbe pulled on Sander’s sleeve. “Come” he said. 

The boys arrived at the deserted skatepark located in the Parc de Bercy. The fence around the skatepark was locked as it was destined for destruction. The ramps had been worn down from years of skating and the site had now become too dangerous. Robbe started to climb over the fence. Sander was amazed, he had never expected his boy to do that. 

The whole skatepark was covered in graffiti. “Let’s add our own piece” Robbe said. “Yeah, that will be hard without paint…” Sander said amazed by his boy’s stupidity. But then Robbe opened his backpack… “I’ve raided your collection of spray paints earlier today…” Robbe admitted. Robbe gave Sander a mask and put one on himself. He next took Sander’s camera from his backpack. “You took my camera!” Sander exclaimed, faking annoyance. “Look, the moonlight is shining…” Robbe said as he handed the camera to Sander who instantly smiled at the memory. Robbe started to paint a giant thunderbolt while Sander took pictures of his angel in the moonlight… 

00:29

There we no metro’s anymore so the boys were forced to take a taxi. “Where to?” the driver asked. “The E…” Sander started but he was interrupted by Robbe. “église de la Madelaine” Robbe spoke. 

After a short walk from the église de la Madelaine, the boys arrived at the Elysée Palace. Now the tricky part… Getting back in… Robbe and Sander started to crawl on their hands and knees past the guard post but they had failed, a voice yelled hard and clear “Stop right there!”. The guard took his radio and tried to call for help. Robbe tried to stand up but the guard yelled: “Don’t move! Stay where you are! You’re under arrest!”. Robbe yelled back: “I am the king”. This startled the guard and Robbe used the moment of his confusion to pull off his wig and moustache. The guard recognized the king and he was completely confused and also terrified for how he had just yelled at Robbe. Robbe stood up and walked towards the guard: “This was a surprise test of palace security. There’s no need to report this in as we will conduct surprise evaluations of other guards. You have passed the test with flying colours!”. “Thank you, your majesty” the guard said proudly. As the boys turned around and walked in Robbe could hardly hide his smile as the guard had believed the story he just had made up on the spot… 

**Friday January 22nd, 2021**

21:16

Robbe was laying next to Sander in the sofa listening to some music when Sander’s phone made a ping sound. “Come” Sander said as he stood up. “What?” Robbe said in surprise. “Today I have a surprise for you…” Sander said while grabbing his boyfriends hand and leading him through the hallways. When they arrived at the door to the Hall of Festivities, Sander used his hands to cover Robbe’s eyes and he led the younger boy inside. “Surprise!” everyone shouted as Sander removed his hands. All his friends from Antwerp had come over for the weekend: the broerrrs, Zoë and Senne, Milan and Jonathan, Luca, Amber, and Noor. 

“You…” Robbe said while he grabbed Sander’s t-shirt to pull him in for a kiss. “Hey!” Moyo shouted, “Can you believe that… He hasn’t seen us in three weeks and all his attention goes to Sander”. Zoë shot an angry look at Moyo who replied: “Relax! It was just a joke”. 

“DJ Sobbe?” Sander asked. “DJ Sobbe!” Robbe replied excitedly with a smile. The boys walked over to the music installation and Robbe took the microphone and he yelled: “Ready to party!”. “Yeah!!!” everyone yelled back. Robbe had in the meantime selected the first music piece. 

Sander got a beer for himself and his boyfriend. “Cheers baby!” Sander said while clinking his glass to that of Robbe. “Cheers my prince” Robbe replied back. After taking a sip Robbe leaned in and gave a kiss on his boyfriend’s forehead. Sander smiled, nothing in life gave him as much pleasure as seeing his boyfriend being all happy and in love. 

The boys put their right arm up in the air and their bodies started to vibrate with the beat of the music. 

Suddenly Sander’s attention was grabbed by what he saw in the corner of the room. “Who’s that, that Jens is talking to?” he asked his boyfriend. “Lucas… I think his name is… Why?” Robbe asked. “They are flirting…” Sander said. “Really?” Robbe said in surprise. “100%” Sander confirmed. Sven walked by. “Hey Sven” Sander yelled. “Yes” Sven said. “You know the boy Jens is talking to?” Sander asked. “Yes, Lucas an intern in our Press Office. He’s from the Netherlands…” Sven explained. “Wait are they flirting?” Sven asked as he observed Jens and Lucas. “You see, Sven thinks so too” Sander told Robbe. “Why has Jens never told me he was bi or pan?” Robbe asked in surprise. “Missed opportunity?” Sander teased. “Silly boy” Robbe said as he pulled Sander in for a kiss, “You know you’re the only one for me in all universes”. 

The party went on till after 1 AM… 

**Saturday January 23rd, 2021**

09:13

“Goodmorning” Robbe said as he walked into the dining room. His hair was still muddled and he still felt sleepy. He and Sander had slept long and so they had no time to shower yet, especially given that their showers tended to last rather long… Robbe yawned as he fell onto his chair. “Someone needs a coffee” Jens said. “Yes, please” Robbe replied. “Did Sander keep you up again?” Moyo teased. Robbe started to blush but he didn’t respond hoping that everyone would believe that he’s still too sleepy and had no heard Moyo’s remark. “Here” Aaron said and he handed Robbe a cup. “Thanks” Robbe replied and he immediately took a sip. His face instantly turned to disgust. “Bah! What the fock is this?” Robbe said who expected a nice cup of coffee but instead his mouth was filled with a sour and bitter tasting liquid. “Kombucha” Aaron said, “Amber says it’s healthy…”. Sander took the cup and took a whiff. “People drink this?” he asked in surprise. “I prefer hot chocolate over kom… How is it called?” Luca said. “It’s full of B vitamins…” Amber started. “And it tastes like the water of the Berkeley pit” Sander interrupted. “The what?” Robbe asked. “A highly acidic and toxic lake in an abandoned open pit copper mine” Sander explained. Amber shot an angry look at Sander. 

Sander had in the meantime found the coffee and handed his boyfriend a cup. “Hmmmm” Robbe salivated as he smelled the coffee made from freshly ground Columbian beans. After taking a few sips of his coffee Robbe reached for the croissants. Freshly baked this morning by the artisanal baker ‘Dubois et fils’ who held the Royal warrant. Last December Sander had bought bread, viennoiserie, and pâtisserie from twenty three different bakery shops in Paris and conducted a comprehensive taste test to eventually settle on ‘Dubois et fils’. Robbe bit down into the crispy but fluffy croissant. Aaron also grabbed a croissant but he put it immediately back after noticing the disapproving look of Amber. Instead he decided to just eat some yoghurt with muesli.  


“So, I heard you were thinking of adopting a child?” Amber asked. The boys were surprised by her question as they had not yet told the news to others. Amber noticed the surprise on their faces and clarified: “I heard you talk about it last night”. “Yes, the child of a colleague who died during the attack on our lives and who has no other family…” Robbe said, “His name is Sander”. “Wait what? Sander?” Jens asked. “Yes, his mother named him after Sander before her death…” Robbe clarified. “Congratulations!” Zoë exclaimed. “Don’t you think you’re a bit too young to have children?” Amber asked. Zoë sent a disapproving look to Amber: “I am sure that Robbe and Sander will be amazing dads”. 

“Is it possible to adopt at your age because in Belgium you have to be at least 25 years old?” Jonathan asked. “Kuh kuh” Milan choked in his coffee. “Relax sweetie” Jonathan said, “I know because of some gay friends who want to adopt… I am not suggesting we should…”. “Whew!” Milan sighed relieved. “Here it’s 28…” Robbe said with a sad face, “But, we’re working with Parliament to create a new adoption law that would allow us to adopt him”. In the meantime Sander had fetched a picture of little Sander on his smartphone and proudly showed it to everyone. This was THEIR son. 

“I have a surprise activity for this afternoon” Sander revealed. “That’s nice but we’re going to explore Paris today… We’ve never been here and Paris is the city of love…” Milan said referring to himself and his boyfriend, “Have fun!”. “Thank you! You too!” Robbe said. “Come beauty” Milan said to Jonathan. 

11:06

Robbe had gone out with Jens to skate on the courtyard of the Elysée. After skating for half an hour Jens had decided to take a pause and sat down while lighting a joint. “Fock Jens, it’s full of police here…” Robbe said. “They won’t arrest a guest of the King, right” Jens said audaciously back. Robbe shook his head. “Oh, can Lucas come with us this afternoon to whatever Sander has planned?” Jens asked. “So, you have an eye on him?” Robbe asked. “You’ve noticed?” Jens asked. “I didn’t know you were bi or pan?” Robbe asked. “Me neither…” Jens said, “I never considered a boy before… But he’s so cute and interesting… Well, I don’t know… I am just figuring out my own sexuality at the moment, I guess…” Jens said. “So, can he come?” Jens repeated his question. “Sure” Robbe said while he stood up to go back inside because the winter cold started to become unbearable. 

13:19

Everyone arrived at Sander’s next surprise. They were going ice skating. Everyone, well nearly everyone, was excited. “What if I fall?” Amber said with a worried look. “Won’t happen. We’ll stay with you” Zoë and Luca comforted her. “Woooooh! Ice skating! We Dutchmen love it” Lucas exclaimed. 

13:41

Everyone had put on their ice skates. Jens and Lucas were the first ones to get on the ice followed by Aaron and then Moyo. Sander and Robbe held hands as they got on the ice. After the boys, the girls got on the ice. 

Sander lifted Robbe up in his arms but this caused his to temporarily become unstable on his feet… Luckily Sander had often gone ice skating as a child so his experience helped him to regain his balance. Robbe didn’t help, as instead of remaining still, he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck and kissed Sander’s cheek. “My Jack Frost” Robbe said. Sander smiled. “You melt me” Sander joked back. Their romantic moment was interrupted by a big “Fock!”. Sander turned around with Robbe still in his arms and the boys saw that Aaron had fallen. “Fock! Fock! Fock!” Aaron kept swearing. Lucas burst into a laugh. “Let me show you how to skate” he said while gliding over the ice at nearly twice the speed of anyone else. 

Sander could not let this challenge pass… He was going to show that he could skate at least as good as Lucas. He put Robbe down and went after Lucas. “Race?” he yelled. “You’ll never win from me…” Lucas yelled back, “I’ve been training for years for the next eleven city tour…”. “I am Jack frost, King of ice and snow” Sander joked back. “Woooooh” Sander yelled as he was getting up to speed. The two boys were skating head to head for five rounds around the ice rink but in the end it came down to a photo finish and the observers, included Robbe, had to admit that Lucas won by a few centimetres…

16:07

After all that exercise it was time to stock up on some calories so the friend group went to a local café. When the waiter came to take the order, Sander took the lead and said “crêpes Suzette for all”. “For me one without alcohol” Zoë quickly added. “You can pour her alcohol on mine” Luca told the waiter. “What?” she asked noticing the disapproving look from Amber; “If we pay for it, we should get it”. “And what would you like to drink?” the waiter asked the group. “What is Cafe Royale?” Moyo asked. “It’s coffee with cognac” the waiter explained. “Good, I’ll take that one” Moyo replied. “Same” all the boys said. “I’ll take the coffee with Grand Marnier” Luca said. “Same for me” Amber said. “A green tea” Zoë asked. 

The waiter came with a trolly to cook the crêpes in front of the guests. He poured sugar in the pan and heated it until it started to melt. He then added the butter followed by lemon juice. Next lemon and orange peel was added. Finally, the sauce was finished by the addition of the orange juice. When the sauce had started to thicken, the pancakes were placed into the pan. When the pancakes had heated up, the waiter added a generous splash of Grand Marnier and flamed the dish. He plated the pancakes and then added a nice quenelle of vanilla ice cream on top. 

Everyone was salivating as they smelled the orange and caramel aroma that was filling the room. The waiter was done and he brought the first plate to Robbe: “Your majesty”. Robbe cut a piece of his crêpe but instead of putting it into his mouth he put it into Sander’s. This brought back all the memories from that first day at the sea and Sander just had to kiss Robbe to show that this boy is now his. Robbe wrapped his arms around his boyfriend while he tasted the orange and caramel taste in Sander’s mouth.  


Everyone else had now started to eat their crêpes too. Well, all except Robbe and Sander who were still making out. “Hmmm, this is focking tasty” Luca stated with her mouth still full. “Yes very tasty. You should make these for us at home too…” Aaron told Amber. “Men can cook too” Amber said while rolling her eyes. “Sweetheart” Aaron replied, “You know I would burn the kitchen down when I flame them…”. Everyone started to laugh at Aaron’s remark. “Robbe would too…” Sander teased. “Hey!” Robbe faked annoyance, “As if you’re the household wonder… Who washed our t-shirts at 95°C? Maybe they’ll fit our son now…”. “He would look so good in my Bowie shirt” Sander smirked. 

23:23

The two boys were in bed staring at each other. “I still have to pinch myself in the face every day to believe that you’re real. That this is not a dream… I never thought I would find someone as perfect as you” Robbe said. This time it was Sander who was blushing. Nobody else had ever called him perfect… And Sander knew that Robbe meant what he said. 100%. He wasn’t trying to be nice. Sander put his right hand on Robbe’s cheek and caressed his cheek with his thumb. The boys stared into each other’s eyes. “You’re so beautiful” Sander said while he rubbed his hand through Robbe’s long fluffy brown hair. It had grown to the length it had in the autumn of 2018. Robbe smiled and kissed Sander. 

Sander put his head down on Robbe’s chest and Robbe wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. “Goodnight baby” Sander said. “Goodnight my prince” Robbe said while giving a kiss to the top of Sander’s head. Moments later the two boys were sleeping… 

**Sunday January 24th, 2021**

08:30

The alarm woke the two boys up. Robbe was spooning Sander. His right arm was wrapped over his boyfriend. Robbe inhaled the mesmerizing smell of his boyfriend. “Good morning my prince” Robbe whispered in his ear. “Good morning baby” Sander said while turning around to face his boyfriend. The morning sunlight that slipped through the curtains hit Robbe’s golden earing causing it to sparkle. 

“The boys and girls are waiting for us…” Robbe reminded Sander. “They won’t run away” Sander said cheekily. Suddenly, Robbe jumped out off bed. “Noooo” Sander objected. “Come” Robbe said. “Nooo, I want to stay a bit longer in bed with you…” Sander begged. “Come” Robbe said again, “We should shower before breakfast”. “I like your thinking…” Sander said with a smile. “Sander…” Robbe said but he really wanted it too. 

09:18

“Sorry, I forgot to put the clock” Robbe lied. “I often forget that too…” Aaron replied. “Yeah, if you didn’t had me…” Amber said while rolling her eyes. A servant brought in a large dish containing a pile of croques. “Croques is our tradition for Sunday’s” Robbe clarified to his friends. “I want something healthy” Amber protested. “Voila, tomatoes” Sander repeated his joke from more than a year ago as he handed a bottle of ketchup to Amber who instantly shot an angry look at him. As Amber was thinking of skipping breakfast, the door opened and a servant walked in with two bowls of granola and yoghurt with fresh berries for Amber and Zoë. “Happy now?” Sander asked. “Yes, thank you” she replied. 

“Hmmmm, these are tasty croques” Jens said. “Four stars on Booking” Robbe said. Sander understood the compliment and he turned to Robbe to give him a kiss. Only his croques would get five stars… 

“Do you guys already have plans for the wedding? Or is that secret?” Milan asked. “To be honest…” Robbe said, “With all the things that have been going on in the last weeks we have completely forgotten about the fact that we have a wedding to plan…”. “You know, I am available if you need my help” Milan said while throwing a begging look at the boys. “Don’t look at me…” Robbe said, “We agreed that Sander was in charge of planning…”. Milan turned his eyes to Sander: “Please”. “Ok, well I guess I can use an assistant…” Sander said with a smirk. “You won’t regret it” Milan said excitedly. “You thrust those? That they won’t go over the top?” Moyo asked. “Maybe I like over the top” Robbe joked. Sander had a sneaky smile as he already had made up some good ideas of how their wedding would look like. 

“Like such a wedding with thousands of guests… And a big white princess gown with hundreds of pearls… And lots of white flowers… Roses… Carnations… Orchids… And peony flowers…” Amber started to dream out loud about her own wedding causing Aaron to swallow hard. The look on his face revealed his concern about the cost of Amber’s dreams. “No! We’re keeping it small” Robbe said. “Oh, but we’ll be allowed to attend, right?” Luca asked. “Yes, you’re all invited” Sander clarified. “Will it be on television?” Jonathan asked. “Yes, we can’t get around that… But only the wedding ceremony itself. The party thereafter we would like to keep private” Robbe explained.

“And the coronation the day afterwards?” Milan asked. “There’s already a team of people working on that…” Robbe replied. “Is it that complex?” Luca asked. “Well there will be hundreds of Royals, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and world leaders attending so the logistics is a nightmare… Especially the Americans, Russians, and Chinese are having insane demands… The US Secret Service wants to bring over 120 cars and 6 helicopters with them… And they won’t even tell us ahead of time where Air Force One will land…” Robbe explained. “Because of the murder of the previous President and VP?” Senne asked. “Yep” Robbe replied. “It’s 7 months until the coronation and the US Secret Service already has a forward team in France…” Robbe said. But he was interrupted by Sven: “I don’t think we should be discussing this”. “Sorry” Robbe apologized. 

“We don’t even have a US president yet…” Jonathan said. “I am hoping it will be Mr. Watson” Milan exclaimed, “The first gay President in US history!”. “He’s a great guy! I watched a speech of him the other day…” Zoë said, “And he chose a woman to run as his VP. If he wins it will be the first woman to be VP in US history…”. “Senator Watson helped us to avoid WW III by slowing the US congress from voting on a declaration of war…” Robbe revealed. This revelation stunned all around the table as this had not been public knowledge. “You should make that public! Then he will certainly be elected!” Amber said. “Absolutely not!” Sven objected, “That would be seen as France interfering with US elections”. “If Senator Watson wants to reveal his role in solving this crisis than he’s free to do so… But we can’t do it for him…” Sven explained. 

“So, what are we going to do today?” Moyo asked. “I have a surprise activity for today too” Sander replied proudly. “What?” Luca asked. “As I said, it’s a surprise…” Sander said while rolling his eyes. 

12:49

Everyone arrived at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts. This is the temporal location of Sander’s Youth Art Project, until the time that the new Art Academy would be build. “Today we’re going to participate in the Youth Art Project” Sander said proudly. More than 100 Parisian teenagers had showed up. This week’s art activity was graffiti and Sander himself was going to be the teacher. “You want to help out?” Sander asked Noor. “Of course” she replied with a smile. 

Large multiplex plates had been installed to be used as surface to spray on. Sander went to the panel at the front of the room. “Before we all start spraying… I would like to demonstrate some techniques. Especially for those who have never sprayed before…” he said. “So, the first thing you need to do is to attach the spray caps to your bottles. There are various caps that allow you to pray larger surfaces or caps that allow you to spray thin lines…”. “Ok, so everyone put on your masks” Sander said, “We always start by shaking the can and then we spray away from our surface on which we work just to test the can… So, we start with a sketch, just like when you make a painting”. 

Everyone started to sketch… “It’s dripping!” Amber said. Noor walked over. “Yes, when you spray thin lines, close to the surface, you need to move your hand faster to prevent dripping” Noor explained. “Cool man!” Moyo yelled as he was enjoying making his first piece. Zoë had decided that she wanted to paint a butterfly. Not the easiest thing for a novice… Senne was helping her but he too had never done this before. “Noooo” Zoë yelled as a fuzzy haze of paint drops made it to a neighbouring surface that she had already sprayed. “You must hold it closer to the surface” Senne instructed. “You see” he said as he demonstrated it himself. “From macho to artist” Zoë teased. “Hey, I’ve always been a romantic soul…” Senne objected. 

At the end of the class everyone had a piece made. “It’s horrible” Zoë said about her and Senne’s butterfly. “Believe me, it’s very good for a first time” Sander motivated them. “A rainbow” Sander said as he came over to see Robbe’s piece. Robbe had changed so much in the last year. He had become fully confident and open about his sexuality. The whole world knew about it and he wasn’t ashamed of it like he had been 15 months ago… “Does the master approve of his pupil’s work?” Robbe asked. “Always!” Sander said as he pulled his and Robbe’s mask off and went in for a kiss. 

15:11

It was sadly time for the friends to return to Antwerp as they would have school the next day. Everyone hugged Robbe and Sander and said goodbye before getting on the Thalys back to Antwerp. “Thanks for this amazing weekend!” Jens told Robbe. Robbe smiled as he understood why Jens used the word ‘amazing’. But he didn’t say anything as the other broerrrs and girls were still oblivious to the fact... 

**Monday January 25th, 2021**

13:07

“Please let me go with you” Sander begged Robbe. “No, I must do this by myself” Robbe replied. “Remember, how we promised each other to always be there for each other?” Sander asked. “Stop Sander!” Robbe yelled, “You’re not going with me!”. “Baby please” Sander said in tears but Robbe ran away... 

As Robbe reached the next room and the door was closed he fell against the wall. Being so rude against Sander was hurting him more than he could describe. But he had to be. To protect Sander. The sadness he had caused Sander by being rude to him was nothing compared to the pain he would feel if he was in the same room as Louise, the woman who had murdered the mother of their son. 

14:12

Robbe was brought in a visitors room. Princess Louise was brought in and her handcuffs were attached to the table. Robbe avoided looking at her, his eyes firmly focussed on the table in front of him. He feared that he would physically attack her if he glanced at her and remembered his friends who had died in her terrorist attack. His heart was racing at high speed and his breathing was heavy as if he had just run a marathon. His hands felt clammy, he felt nauseous, and despite his best efforts he could not suppress the nervous bouncing of his legs. Being in the same room as her made him feel sick. Robbe closed his eyes and inhaled a few times in a regular pattern to relax himself. 

Finally, he opened his eyes and without looking at her he asked the question that had haunted him for the last week: “Why?”. “Why do you think?” Louise asked surprised by Robbe’s question. “I… I don’t understand… I’ve spent days…” Robbe mumbled. “Power, of course” she said, “If our plan would have worked we would have ruled the world”. “I don’t get it” Robbe said in disbelief. “It’s pretty simple…” Louise said, “The three of us: me, President McDuff, and general Smirnov would have conquered the whole planet during this war before signing a historical peace treaty… The US would control the entire American continent plus Japan and a third of Africa. We would have gotten the whole of Europe, Australia, India, the Middle East, and another third of Africa. And finally, Russia would have taken China and the rest of Asia together with a third of Africa”. “And the Italian PM?” Robbe asked. “He wouldn’t live to claim his part” Louise said with a smirk. Robbe had no words for what he heard… “That’s disgusting, cruel, inhumane,…” he yelled. “In contrast…” Louise said, “It’s humanitarian. There would never be war again… The world would know peace and stability under the New World Order”. 

Robbe couldn’t take it anymore. All this time he had hoped, against better judgement, that she would be able to give him one at least moderately good justification for her actions… But in reality she just wanted to rule the world. She was prepared to sacrifice untold numbers of lives to satisfy her hunger for power. Tears ran down Robbe’s face. “Kings don’t cry” Louise blasted, “Only weak man do…”. Robbe stood up and in a fury he threw his chair against the wall. The chair shattered into dozens of pieces from the violent impact against the concreate wall. He immediately ran out before he would do stupid stuff… 

15:04

Upon arriving back at the Elysée Robbe ran immediately towards his bedroom and slammed the door close with great violence. This is why Sander had first objected against Robbe’s decision to visit his aunt and having failed to talk it out of his head he had tried to convince Robbe to let him go with him. He knew how painful it would be for him to be there. He also knew that it would be equally painful for Robbe and he wanted to be there for him. To give him emotional support. He was still angry that Robbe had not let him go with him but he fully understood that Robbe did it to protect him. His angel always watched over him but to Sander’s annoyance sometimes, like now, at the expense of his own mental health… 

Sander walked to the bedroom and carefully opened the door. He peaked inside and saw Robbe laying crying on the bed. He walked in and sat down on the bed. “Robbe” he said. Robbe lifted his head up and looked at Sander. “Sorry” he said. Sander placed his hand on Robbe’s back and said: “No need to apologize. I know you were just protecting me…”. Robbe cried. “Tsssss…” Sander tried to comfort his boyfriend. “It was beyond horrible…” Robbe stated, “her goal was to conquer and rule the world… She wanted to start World War III to become a dictator!”. Sander was shocked, he had expected that whatever she would tell Robbe would be horrible but this was beyond what his imagination had dreamt up…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own gratitude to “One single thread of gold” by robinora for inspiring me to write the escape scene.


	36. The adoption of little Sander

**Friday January 29th, 2021**

13:52 

Sander took Robbe upstairs. He placed his hands in front of his boyfriend’s eyes and led him into a bedroom. Sander removed his hands and Robbe saw the room that Sander had decorated for their son. Every wall had been decorated with a mural in another theme. The wall against which the little crib was standing was decorated with a night’s sky with stars and the moon. Robbe had to laugh when he noticed that Sander was already introducing their son to Bowie as hidden in the corner by the moon there was a tiny figure hidden, it was starman. Another wall was decorated in a spring/summer scene with a grass field full with colourful flowers, some trees, butterflies, birds, chickens, mice, squirrels, rabbits and a sheep. A big yellow sun and white clouds decorated the top of that wall. Another wall had an oceans theme and was covered in beautiful fishes, dolphins, sea turtles,... The bottom of that wall was painted to look like sand and little shells decorated the ocean’s floor. Finally, the last wall had a giant mural on it of the three of them: Robbe, Sander, and their son. 

In the room next to the crib there was also a rocking chair, a nursery glider, a baby swing, a changing table, a playmat with toys attached, several cabinets to store the boys clothing and toys, a book cabinet filled with infant books, a laundry basket, and several mobiles were hanging above the crib. A humidifier and a music player were standing on a table. “We’re ready for when he arrives” Sander said as he opened the cabinet to show that he had already stocked up on everything needed: diapers, baby wipes, ointment, changing table pads and covers, pacifiers, teething ring, a baby rattle, burb cloths, baby bottles, a bottle warmer, bottle brushes, a bottle sterilizer, clothing, baby thermometer, bulb syringe, saline nose drops, an infant tub, bath thermometer, bath toys, baby soap and shampoo, washcloths, hooded baby towers, baby lotion, baby hair brush, baby nail clippers,… He had also already bought a stroller and an infant car seat. 

“Wow!” Robbe said impressed by all the preparations that Sander had already done. “I hope he likes it… Took me a week to paint…” Sander said. “I am sure he will love it!” Robbe replied while grabbing Sander and pulling him in for a kiss. Robbe was so proud of his boy. “When he gets older I can paint knights or dragons or pirates or Star Wars or whatever he likes on his walls…” Sander said. “Or the flash” Robbe teased. Sander laughed out loud. “Or maybe I can paint the solar system…” Sander said. “The solar system?” Robbe asked as he noticed the twinkling in his boyfriend’s eyes. “Well… You know, my mum bought me a telescope as a child… She obviously hoped I would go into physics like her… But I just liked the beauty of the night’s sky…” Sander explained.  


“What is this?” Robbe asked when he noticed a pile of books in the corner of the room. “Some literature I have been reading…” Sander replied. Robbe scanned the spines of the books and noticed the titles: “Baby: a to z”, “Caring for a little miracle”, “How to raise a child”, “Baby care made easy”, “Keeping your baby healthy”,… He smiled. This was his Sander… The guy whose motto was “All the way or no way”. 

Robbe looked further around the room and his heart again skipped a beat when he saw what was sitting inside the baby crib. “Sniffie???” Robbe said with big eyes as he noticed the stuffed mouse. Sander smiled. “My sniffie???” Robbe continued. “Yes, your mum gave it for our son” Sander said. Sniffie had been Robbe’s favourite stuffed toy when he was a toddler. Sander knew this as the stuffed mouse had been present in nearly every picture of toddler Robbe that he had ever seen. Sander saw Robbe’s blinking eyes as his boy’s childhood memories came back… “You’ll miss sniffie?” Sander teased. “No, I now have you to cuddle” Robbe smiled as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. “Oh, so I am just a stuffed animal to you…” Sander teased. “Shut up” Robbe faked annoyance. 

Then Robbe noticed a weird device pointed at the crib. “What’s this?” he asked. “It’s a doppler radar” Sander replied. “A radar???” Robbe asked confused. “Yes, it measures the breathing of the baby… This is to prevent sudden infant death syndrome…” Sander explained. “Look” Sander said while handing Robbe an infant bodysuit. “It has flexible metallic plates on the inside…” Robbe said surprised. “Yes, that’s called captive ECG and allows you to monitor the baby’s heart without any wires…” Sander explained, “You know that approximately one in a thousand babies dies from sudden infant death syndrome! With the radar and the captive ECG we can prevent that…”. Sander couldn’t finish his sentence. Thinking that something bad could happen to their son was too horrible to even imagine. Robbe noticed the two baby monitors that were standing on the changing table. “Two baby monitors?” Robbe asked. “Yes, in case one would stop working…” Sander explained. He really was going all the way to keep his son safe...  


“We’re just 15 months together and we’re already engaged and now we’re adopting a child… Some people would think this is going too fast…” Sander said. “Says the guy who talked about marriage within the first month of our relationship…” Robbe teased. Sander laughed. “I was just teasing” he said, “I’ve never doubted a second about the fact that I wanted to share the rest of my life with you”. “You and me… 100%... Forever… In all universes” Robbe repeated what had become their motto as he pulled Sander in for a kiss. 

16:49 

Robbe, Sander, and Sven were sitting in the salon waiting nervously for the arrival of Diane LeBeau, the President of the National Assembly. The National Assembly had been in meeting since noon and she had promised to come over as soon as a consensus text for the adoption law had been reached. Robbe was nervously playing with the strings of his yellow ochre-coloured hoody while Sander tried to control his nerves by walking around the room. “Why is it taking this long?” Sander asked to nobody in particular. Robbe feared that it took so long because some members of the National Assembly were opposing the new law… What if they decided that they couldn’t adopt little Sander? Such a thought was too horrible to even contemplate… Robbe already loved the baby, that he had not met yet, as if it was his own biological son. 

Finally, the door opened and Diana walked in. “Your majesty. Your highnesses” she greeted the boys. “Welcome madam! Please take a seat” Sven said. “Thank you!” Diane said. “So, we have a proposal for a new adoption law but before placing it up for vote in the National Assembly I wanted to discuss it with you and see if you can agree with the terms put forth in this new law… “Ok…” Robbe simply replied. 

“So, we have negotiated with the various fractions in the National Assembly and come up with a consensus text for the new law… To ensure that the new law will pass the vote we had to make amendments to appease the fractions that are… Well, let’s say sceptical…” Diane started. “First, as his majesty is still a minor it will be Sander who will officially have to adopt first. After their marriage, the King will get shared parental rights with Sander. However, as this new adoption law only applies to the Royal family, and Sander is currently not part of it… We’ve come up with the creative solution that the King must sign an intent to adopt and thereby authorize Sander to adopt in his name. But as the King is a minor himself, the regent, who is also the King’s legal guardian, will have to countersign that intent to adopt document…” she explained. 

“Normally, one has to be 28 to be allowed to adopt and while we tried to make an exception for you… Some members of the National Assembly thought that you should not get such an exception simply because you’re the King… Therefore, we arrived at a consensus that would give first Sander and later, after your marriage you too, parental rights over the child but until you both are 28 the child will also have a legal guardian…” Diane explained. 

“Wait, what??? We’ll not be his real parents for another 10 years!” Sander exclaimed. “Sorry…” Diane said. “So, who would this guardian be?” Robbe asked. “We think that the Regent would be best suited to fill that responsibility…” Diane replied while looking at Sven. “What does legal guardianship mean?” Robbe said in panic. Diane took a breath. “It means that Sven will be able to overrule any decision you make concerning your son… Basically, it’s similar to what Sven is over you now…” she said. Robbe’s parents were his parents but from the moment that he had become King they had lost any parental authority over their son. That authority lies with the regent who is also the legal guardian of the King. Sven stood up and walked over to Sander who was visibly shaken by the news that he would not be the child’s real dad for another 10 years. “Hey Sander… Look at me…” Sven said, “It will just be on paper. I will never interfere with how you and Robbe raise your son. You and Robbe will be his real dads”. Sander smiled. If it was just on paper than he could live with it. Sander looked at Robbe and the two boys understood each other without words. 

“So let me see if I understand correctly?” Robbe asked, “First, I have to officially declare the intent to adopt little Sander and Sven must countersign. In that document I grant Sander the right to adopt in my name. Next, Sander adopts and becomes the child’s dad but Sven has the legal rights over the child. When we marry, I get parental rights too but until we’re 28 Sven stays on as legal guardian?” “That’s correct” Diane replied. 

“We accept the conditions” Robbe said. “Sorry, there’s more…” Diane said. “The National Assembly could obviously not do anything unconstitutional and as the constitution stipulates that the heir to the throne of France must always be the closest blood relative of Hugh Capet, your adopted son will not be in line for the throne… As such he also will not be allowed to carry the title ‘son of France’, ‘Prince du Sang’, nor the style of “Royal Highness”. Those are titles protected in the constitution for people in line to the throne. You will, obviously, be able to give your son any other noble title you want as is your prerogative as King of France. And he can use the style of Serene Highness like his dad Sander” Diane explained. Robbe couldn’t care a bit about the title question. All he wanted was to offer little Sander a loving home. “Concerning his family name…” Diane said, “As Sander will adopt him he will take Sander’s name. But even after your marriage he will keep Sander’s name. The ‘de France’ is only reserved for those in line to the throne…”. This made Robbe swallow hard. His son could not carry his name. “He will be as much your son as he’s mine” Sander reassured his boyfriend. 

“If I may speak freely?” Diane asked. Robbe nodded. “I believe that you and Sander will be the best parents imaginable and I am happy that the child will get such a loving home” Diane said with a smile. “Thank you” Robbe said, “And thank you for all the help to fix these legal issues…”. “That’s my job… Navigating the complex legal maze…” Diane joked. “I think some of our laws could be made more intuitive and less complicated…” Robbe said while thinking about the difficult legal courses he was taking. “Simplification of some of our laws would indeed be welcome…” Diane said, “We should, if your majesty approves, sit together once to discuss this topic in more detail…”. “Yes, we should. The law should be there to serve the people, not to irritate them with unnecessary complexities that they don’t understand…” Robbe replied. 

20:16 

The phone rang. Robbe answered. It was Diane, she informed him that the National Assembly and the senate had just passed the adoption law. “We can adopt little Sander!!!” Robbe exclaimed all excited. “Really?” Sander asked as he jumped out of his chair. “Yes, parliament passed the adoption law!” Robbe said. Sander wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and lifted Robbe up in the air from happiness. Robbe giggled. Their moment of happiness got interrupted when Sander realized: “But… I guess now we need to go through all the bureaucracy…”. “Yes, the paper mill…” Robbe said with a sad face. 

**Saturday January 30th, 2021**

09:37 

Sander was working on a painting for his portrait class. Suddenly, Robbe stormed into his art studio. He was out of breath as he had run through the palace at lightning speed to bring Sander the amazing news. He struggled to catch his breath but he was able to say: “We can go and pick our son up this afternoon at the adoption agency!”. “What?! Really???” Sander said all excited while jumping up from his chair. Robbe breathed heavily… “Yes, I pulled some strings to make the bureaucracy go a bit faster…” he confessed. Before he had even finished his sentence Sander had already walked over and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. “When can we go?” he impatiently asked. “We have an appointment at 14:00” Robbe said. 

10:54 

“I’ve interviewed several nannies and, if you agree, I think we should go for Hilde. She comes highly recommended by all the families she has worked for. She seems like a really nice lady” Robbe said. Sander looked at his boyfriend who immediately understood Sander’s concern. The boys really often could understand what the other one was thinking without the need for words… “Don’t worry… We will raise Sander. I would just feel more comfortable having a professional around to help us… So that we don’t give him a bath in too hot or too cold water or God know what other stupid mistake we may make…” Robbe said, his voice clearly giving away how concerned he was about making mistakes. “You really are the best dad…” Sander said while wrapping his arms around his fiancée. 

13:48 

The boys walked into the adoption office. Their appointment was only at 14:00 but the boys couldn’t wait. If it hadn’t been for Sven who had hold them back from leaving the palace they would have arrived at least an hour early. It was all about to happen… Soon they would for the very first time hold their son in their arms. 

“Your majesty! Highnesses!” the woman behind the desk greeted the boys. She started her routine lecture that she gave all adopting parents: “Adopting a child is a major responsibility…”. Then she paused as she realized she was talking to someone who was responsible for over 66 million people… Someone who had prevented World War III… Surely, Robbe was more than qualified enough to take on just a little bit more responsibility… So she switched topic. “I am sure you must be very busy so I won’t take more of your time…” she said while putting the adoption papers on the table. 

Robbe was still a minor so it was Sander who would officially sign the adoption papers. After Sander, Sven signed the papers. He was going to be the child’s legal guardian for the next decade. After all the paperwork was done a nurse finally brought little Sander in. Brown eyes met green eyes… And something magical happened… Sander made a connection with his son like he had only experienced with one other person ever before, his Robbe. It was as if this was meant to be. As if the universe had determined that Sander had to be the boy’s father… The nurse put the baby in the arms of his new dad and to everyone’s surprise the baby started to smile as soon as he was put in Sander’s arms. “He already like you…” the lady behind the desk said. “Who doesn’t…” Robbe teased with a smile. 

Sander would like to hold on to the baby for hours but he wouldn’t be selfish. In his mind Robbe was as much the boy’s father as him and so he walked over to Robbe and handed him their son. Robbe was shocked by what he saw because few people knew Sander as well as he did. The baby had an uncanny resemblance to his dad Sander. Robbe noticed facial features in the baby that he has also seen on Sander’s baby pics… If Sander would claim to be the biological dad of the child, people would believe him… “He looks like you” Robbe said. “But he has your eyes…” Sander replied. The two boys laughed at their remarks to break the tension because both of them had been deeply affected by meeting this baby. 

Most babies get nervous when they are picked up by people that they don’t know but strangely enough baby Sander got completely relaxed in the arms of his new dads. He even fell asleep minutes after being placed into Robbe’s arms. The nurses were amazed by what they saw. It wasn’t like baby Sander differed from other babies as every time a new nurse had picked him up he had started to cry… 

Sander took his camera out of his bag and snapped some pictures of little Sander sleeping peacefully in his dad’s arms. “He’s our hero” Robbe said with a smile. Sander melted by so much cuteness. He gave first his son a kiss on the forehead and then he kissed Robbe on the lips. 

“Everything is done here?” Sander asked the lady at the desk. “Yes, we’re all done. You can leave” she replied. “Ok, let’s get some warm clothing on” Sander said and he got a tiny baby beanie from his backpack and a thick bodysuit. Robbe held the baby while Sander slipped its tiny legs and arms into the bodysuit. Next he put the beanie on and Robbe placed their son into the portable car seat. “Look what I have here” Sander said as he placed Robbe’s stuffed mouse into his son’s hands. “hehe” the baby laughed. An extra blanket to make sure he was protected from the cold January weather and they were all set to go… “Wait” Sander said and he took another picture, “he looks so cute when wrapped up in warm clothing”. 

15:54 

The boys got back to the Élysée Palace where their families were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their grandson. 

As the boys walked in they were surprised. A big banner read “Welcome little Sander!” and the room was decorated with balloons and candles. And what was that? The broerrrs, Amber, Noor, Luca, Zoë, Senne, Milan, and Jonathan were also there. “What are you doing here?” Robbe asked in surprise. “You think we would want to miss the baby party?” Milan replied with a wink. “I’ve invited them” Sven clarified with a smile. 

Sander was carrying his son in his arms and when seeing his mum and dad he immediately walked over to them to show them his son. Sander had the biggest smile on his face. He was so proud and wanted to stand on top of the Eiffel tower and scream to the world: “Look at my son”. Sander handed his son over to his mum. They always say that a mum recognizes her children and well Isabelle immediately noticed that, except for the eyes, she could have been holding her Sander again in her arms. Just like Robbe the feeling overwhelmed her and she handed the baby over to Sander’s father. “Sorry… But he’s just like you…” she told her son, still in shock. 

Robbe’s family surrounded Charles to get a glimpse of little Sander. “Hey cutie” Charlotte said as she stroked the boys cheek. Charlotte was interrupted by a presence next to her… It still made her feel uncomfortable to have her ex standing next to her. Once, two decades ago they had had a wonderful love story but around Robbe’s ninth birthday their relationship had started to show the first cracks. They had long tried to stay together for their son’s sake but the cliff between them kept growing and soon being in each other’s neighbourhood only caused conflict… On multiple occasions during his teenage years Robbe had run away from home and spend the night over at Jens’. 

Charlotte had, during those dark days, sought comfort in the letters of her equally named ancestor Elisabeth Charlotte who had married Robbe’s forefather Philippe, duke d’Orleans three and a half centuries ago. The two had had some kind of marriage of convenience. She reluctantly had accepted that her husband had no interests in her and they mostly lived separately. Monsieur would spend his days around his many male lovers but especially the love of his live Philippe, Chevalier de Lorraine, Sander’s ancestor. She had tolerated his behaviour but got mad when her husband once more spent outrageous sums of money on his lovers. He showered his lovers in presents, even giving away his wife’s jewellery… 

But Charlotte had never held this history against Sander. She had welcomed him with open arms. And eventually, seeing how happy her son was with his boyfriend had been one of the things that dragged her from that dark period… Only when she had started to feel happiness again did the first lockdown hit… It was hard on her and even harder as she saw how much her son suffered from missing Sander. Luckily, the lockdown was followed by a fantastic summer holiday in which Sander had practically lived with them… This had been her turning point… She had even been dating again but so far without success… Though, more recently something was starting to bloom… She had not dared to speak her feelings to him yet but she had noticed the little glances that he had thrown in her direction… Robbe and Sander were still unaware of the love story that was unfolding in front of their eyes, or at least that was what Charlotte thought… 

Charles handed little Sander back to his son who proudly showed his son to the girls and boys. “He’s so cute” Milan said. “Congratulations, I am so happy for you both” Noor said. Robbe smiled. He was so happy that Noor and him have been able to stay friends after their breakup. Even more, she had grown closer to Sander. Last week she had helped Sander with the graffiti class for his Youth Art Project and afterwards they had decided to do more art projects together in the future. “He really looks like you” Zoë said to Sander. “As cute as his dad” Robbe said while giving Sander a kiss on the cheek. “hehe” little Sander giggled. The boy seemed to pick up on the love between his dads and it made him happy. “Oh, so cute when he laughs” Amber said. 

“Time for presents!” Milan shouted enthusiastically. “Here’s mine” he said while handing a box to Robbe and Sander. Sander opened the boy and found a teddy inside. “Thank you Milan” the boys said. “Congratulations dads!” Noor said while handing over her present. Robbe opened the gift wrapping and found a baby bodysuit inside with the text ‘Ground control for major dad’. The boy smiled. “Look Sander” Robbe shouted as he showed his boyfriend Noor’s gift. “Oooo, so cute” Sander smiled. Next Jens handed over his present. “A toy truck… Thank you” Robbe said. Amber gave him building blocks, Luca a story book, Zoë a baby beanie, Senne a puzzle, Moyo a shape sorter, Aaron a ball, Sven a rocking horse, Charlotte a musical toy, Louis a baby gym, Isabelle a bead maze, and Charles a baby walker. 

Sander was holding his son: “Look at all the presents you got… You will be a spoiled little child…”. “He’s spoiled to have you as a dad. The sweetest and cutest boy imaginable… I am so lucky to have two Sander’s in my life…” Robbe said while wrapping his arms around his boyfriend from behind. The baby smiled as he saw Robbe’s face. 

Robbe noticed that Jens had disappeared. “Sander, do you know where Jens is?” Robbe asked. “I have an idea…” Sander said. “Ok, where?” Robbe asked. “At the press office…” Sander said with a wink. “Oh…” Robbe said with a smile. 

18:17 

“Where’s Jens? I’ve not seen him in over two hours…” Moyo asked Robbe. Robbe decided to lie for his friend: “Jens needed to do some shopping in Paris for his mum”. “Unbelievable, can’t he do that tomorrow? We’re celebrating your son now…” Moyo said while shaking his head. 

**Sunday January 31th, 2021**

09:02 

“Croques again?” Aaron said as he noticed the pile of croques that was already waiting for them in the dining room. “Yes, every Sunday…” Robbe said with a smile. “Here, have some coffee” Robbe said as he handed a cup to Aaron. “Thank you” Aaron said and he took a sip. Instantly his face turned to disgust. “WTFock!” he exclaimed. “Payback time for the kombucha that you gave me last week” Robbe laughed. “What did you do?” Moyo asked. “Add some vinegar to his coffee” Robbe said while still laughing. “Seriously? What are you? Five years old?” Amber snapped. 

Jens walked in with small eyes. “There you are dude!” Moyo exclaimed, “You went missing at the party yesterday and we didn’t see you back anymore…”. Before Jens could speak Robbe quickly fell in. If Jens would give another cover story than the one he had told Moyo yesterday then Moyo would certainly be suspicious. “I hope you found your present for your mums birthday?” Robbe said. Jens was a bit confused but he quickly figured out that Robbe must have covered for him: “Yes, it took much longer than I expected because I lost my way in Paris…”. “Google maps dude!” Moyo said. “Couldn’t, my phone battery was dead…” Jens lied. 

10:47 

Sander had decided that he would make a drawing of his son so he had taken him to his art studio. He carefully placed the boy on a pillow. Then he took his phone and pressed play on his Bowie play list. Sander almost always listens to Bowie while creating his art. It inspired him. “hehe” little Sander giggled as soon as “Starman” sounded through the speaker. “Just his dad” Robbe giggled. 

Sander grabbed some paper and his pencils. As he wanted to start sketching the boy suddenly started crying. Robbe picked him up and little Sander immediately relaxed. “I guess I will have to draw him laying in your arms…” Sander said. Robbe smiled, he definitely didn’t object against posing with his son in his arms. 

11:33 

Sander was done with his drawing and proudly showed it to Robbe. “My artist” Robbe said with a smile. “You like it?” Sander asked. “Yes, it’s amazing” Robbe said. He took his phone and snapped a picture of the drawing. Robbe immediately uploaded the picture on his Instagram and tagged his cute boyfriend. As caption he wrote: 

If you stay you won't be sorry  
'Cos we believe in you  
Soon you'll grow

He immediately got a ping: [@earthlingoddity likes your picture]

12:07

Robbe and Sander were on their way to dinner when they bumped into Lucas. “What are you doing here, dude? It’s Sunday” Sander teased. “Sorry, I had forgotten the book I am reading in my office on Friday and I am just picking it up… I like to read on Sunday afternoons…” Lucas lied. The boys started laughing. “A book named Jens?” Robbe asked naughtily. Lucas was stunned. “Huh, you… You know?” he mumbled. “I am his best friend” Robbe replied. “Come, let the lovebirds have their time alone” Sander said while pulling Robbe away from Lucas. “Have fun” Robbe yelled while walking away. 

12:12

“Enjoy!” Robbe said as lunch was served. “Shouldn’t we wait for Jens?” Zoë asked. “Huh, Jens…” Robbe started. He quickly needed to invent an excuse for his best friend. Fock, how hard can it be to tell a convincing lie? “Jens is visiting a distant relative who lives in Paris” Robbe managed to invent. “Wait, he’s again doing something else? Every time we come here to visit you Jens disappears” Moyo remarked. He didn’t believe Robbe’s story. First he’s hours away to buy a present for his mum because he claims to have lost the way. Now he’s visiting a relative… Milan didn’t know exactly what was going on but he too understood that Robbe was covering his best friend and he too saw that Moyo didn’t believe the story so he decided to help: “Oh yes, his great-aunt Dominique. He told me about her yesterday. He hasn’t met her in years and was looking forward to have some time with her again…”. Moyo started to doubt… Maybe Jens really was on a family visit… 

13:41

Everyone was in the salon as Robbe was demonstrating his musical skills on his guitar. He had started to play “Under pressure”, his and Sander’s song. And of course, Sander sang their version: “Under pressure pushing down on me. Pressing down on you, no man ask for…”. 

Suddenly, the door opened and Jens and Lucas walked in. Almost everyone looked surprised as why Lucas was there again. Last week he had gone with them ice skating too… Nobody really understood why he suddenly seemed to have become part of their friend group but then Jens decided to kiss Lucas in front of all his friends… 

“Ooooooo…” everyone shouted in surprise. Robbe smiled. He was happy to see his best friend being happy and proud. Jens broke the kiss and looked at his friends. “Congratulations!” Aaron said. “Congrats bro” Moyo said. “So Dominique was???” Amber asked confused. “Yeah, I lied” Milan laughed. “Dominique???” Jens asked confused. “I told you were visiting your great-aunt Dominique when Moyo asked where you were…” Milan explained. “So, you’re bi or… Pan…?” Aaron curiously probed. “I don’t know…” Jens said, “All I know is that I love Lucas”. “Who cares about labels?” Milan intervened. 

15:36

Robbe signed a letter Patent giving his son the title of count of Toulouse, one of the pairs of France. “I am afraid that little Sander will be a bit too young still by the time of your coronation to fulfil his duty of carrying your spurs…” Sven said with a wink. Carrying the spurs is the duty of the count of Toulouse during the coronation ritual. “I know…” Robbe said, “His grandfather, Charles, will have to do the honours…”. 

“While I am busy handing out letters Patent…” Robbe said while taking a document from his folder. “You’ve done so much for your country…” Robbe said. “Nothing but my duty” Sven said. “Come on…” Robbe said, “You’ve saved the world from WWIII”. “I am making you the new duke of Chartres” Robbe said. “Thank you, sire” Sven said gratefully. “I am also upgrading you to an officer in the Order of the Holy Spirit” Robbe said. “Oh” Sven said surprised. There can at the same time only be four officers in this most senior of chivalric orders of France. At the moment Robbe’s father was the only one holding on to this position and Sven knew that Robbe reserved one officer ship for Sander for after their marriage (he currently is too young to be eligible to this order but the age threshold lowers to 16 after he becomes part of the Royal family). 

23:12

The boys were in bed when they heard crying through the baby monitor. Both boys started to move up from the bed and realizing that the other one was getting up too they turned to each other. “I guess we need a rotation system…” Robbe said. “Yeah…” Sander replied. “Going together today?” he asked. “Together” Robbe replied with a smile. 

The boys walked into the nursery. Robbe lifted his son up from the bed and started to diagnose the situation. He touched the forehead to see if there was a fever, no fever. He checked the diaper, not dirty. “When was the last time that he ate?” Robbe asked Sander. “I gave him his bottle around 7 PM” Sander said. “That’s 4 hours ago… He must be hungry” Robbe said. “You want to feed him?” Sander asked. Robbe nodded enthusiastically. He handed little Sander over to Sander and went off to prepare the baby’s bottle. 

Knowing that breastmilk is a much healthier choice over baby formula the boys had obtained breastmilk from a donor bank. While Robbe was off preparing the bottle Sander started to comfort his son. “tsssst, daddy is preparing your bottle. In the meantime look what I found here…” Sander said while holding sniffie in front of his son’s face. The baby tried to grab the little stuffed animal but he was still too young and hence his motoric abilities did not yet allow him to accurately grab objects… After some tries his hand finally reached the right spot and he pulled the mouse from Sander’s hand. 

Robbe had returned with the bottle and took little Sander over from his boyfriend. He placed the nipple of the bottle to the lips of his son who immediately started to drink. “Oh, someone was hungry” Robbe said as he noticed his son’s eagerness to eat. “He’s going to become a big boy soon, like his dad” Sander joked. “Right baby?” he asked Robbe. Robbe giggled. Britt may have considered Sander’s humour to be annoying and silly but Robbe loved it. “Hehe” little Sander laughed in response to his dads. “He already loves your humour” Robbe said. “No, he’s happy hearing you laugh because you have the most adorable laugh in the universe” Sander replied with a wink. “Charmer!” Robbe joked. 

**Monday February 1st, 2021**

11:05

Sven walked in with a big smile on his face. “I have fantastic news!” he exclaimed, “The results of the phase III trial with the corona vaccine are in…”. “The relative risk for serious illness in the vaccinated group was 0.18. There were no severe adverse events reported. The first people received the vaccine six months ago and antibody titers are still at above 90% of what they initially were…” Sven said. “Human language, please?” Robbe asked. “It works! The vaccine offers great protection and it probably is long lasting…” Sven said excitedly. “That’s amazing” Robbe exclaimed, “When will it be available?”. “Depending on how fast the European Medicines Agency works… In about a month…” Sven replied. “How many doses have we already on order?” Robbe asked. “50 million sire” Sven replied. “That’s not enough for everyone, place an order for another 16 million doses” Robbe instructed. “Oh, and something else… I want the vaccine to be free of charge for everyone in France” Robbe said. “I’ll talk to the minister of health…” Sven said, “But our budget is tight…”. “Find the money” Robbe instructed. “Oké, I will make it happen” Sven replied. 

I would like to end this chapter by showing the family tree of Robbe and Sander as it currently stands. I will post updated versions as it expands in future chapters...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who’s the mysterious love interest of Robbe’s mother? 
> 
> I was inspired about the idea of the boys adopting a child by the fanfic “Carrying the Moon” from “rust_and_stardust”.
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jackfrostsander


	37. The surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sander is know for his jokes and in this chapter we will see the extend to which Robbe has taken over Sander’s humour… The two boys basically constantly tease each other and joke around. And Robbe loves it. He loved it from the moment that that bleached blond boy asked him if he was the manager.

**Friday February 5th, 2021**

18:28

Robbe was playing a computer game with Jens over the internet when suddenly his eyes were covered by two hands. “Fock” Robbe yelled as he heard his character get shot. But his irritation was short lived as he realized those warm and soft hands belonged to his boyfriend. He could smell Sander’s perfume. “Earth to Robbe?” Jens, who couldn’t see what was happening, yelled. “Robbe??? You’re still there???” Jens repeated as he got no answer. Robbe didn’t even hear Jens anymore as his attention was solely focussed on Sander. “What are you doing Sander?” Robbe asked. Jens could hear this and realized that their game was over… 

“We’re going to have the whole evening to ourselves…” Sander said putting an instant smile on his boyfriend’s face. Robbe went in for a kiss. He tasted the sweet and wet lips of Sander causing his whole body the be on fire… Sander broke the kiss and moved backwards so he could look Robbe in the eyes. “You’re so beautiful” Sander said causing Robbe to giggle who immediately wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and pulled him in for more kisses.

“Come” Sander said as he grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and led him out of the salon and towards the dining room. Robbe giggled. The dining table was completely laid out and was decorated with a silver candelabrum carrying six red taper candles and a vase with red roses. “Sander…” Robbe said speechless as he grabbed his boyfriends shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. 

“Monsieur” Sander said as he pulled the chair from underneath the table for Robbe. Robbe sat down and Sander pushed the chair under the table. Sander brought in an ice bucket containing a bottle of Champagne. “Sander…” Robbe said with a smile as he noticed that his boyfriend had again gone all the way. “All the way or no way” indeed was his motto. Sander opened the bottle and poured in two glasses. “To the most beautiful boy on earth” Sander toasted. Robbe blushed. Hearing Sander use the word “boy” made Robbe think of their son. “Where’s little Sander?” Robbe asked. “He’s with my parents” Sander said, “This evening and night is our time…”. Robbe smiled. He had enjoyed the first week with his son so much but it was nice to have some one-on-one time with his boyfriend. 

Sander stood up and left the room. Moments later he returned with two plates covered with cloches. He put one plate in front of Robbe and the other one on his side of the table. Then he removed the cloche from Robbe’s plate who started to laugh in disbelief. “What?” Sander asked seriously. “Fries and burgers?” Robbe asked. “It’s fatty Friday, right?” Sander replied all seriously. “Fries with champagne…” Robbe laughed. “You like fries and you like champagne so what’s the problem?” Sander kept teasing his boyfriend. “Artists…” Robbe laughed and now Sander couldn’t keep up his serious face anymore and erupted in laughter himself. “I can call for some sous vide butter and tarragon poached lobster…” Sander teased. “Fries and burgers are fine” Robbe laughed. 

19:17

The boys had finished their meal. After the fries and burgers Sander had surprised Robbe with a raspberry bavarois for dessert. “How do they make it look like velvet?” Robbe asked. “Spray paint” Sander said with a grin. “Spray paint????” Robbe asked confused. “Yes, edible paint made with cocoa butter” Sander clarified. “You’re still absolutely clueless in the kitchen” Sander teased. “I have other talents…” Robbe teased back. “Yes, you have” Sander said with a grin and the two boys started to laugh. 

“I have a surprise for you” Sander said with a sneaky smile. He handed Robbe an envelope. “What’s this?” Robbe asked. “Open it and you’ll see” Sander replied. So, Robbe did as instructed… He couldn’t believe his eyes… “Sander, that’s too much…” Robbe said in disbelief. “Nothing is too much for you” Sander replied. Robbe stood up and went over to Sander. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. “Thank you, sweetie” Robbe whispered in Sander’s ear. 

But the moment of bliss didn’t last long as Robbe’s mind soon drifted to all the practical problems… “But what about school?” Robbe asked. “I’ve talked to the director of the academy…” Sander said. “What about the country?” Robbe asked. “Sven is regent” Sander replied. “What about little Sander?” Robbe asked. “He will go with us. Really, I’ve thought about everything” Sander said, “So, stop worrying. We will simply have an amazing week in Curaçao”. “You’re so amazing” Robbe beamed. “So, you’re coming with me?” Sander teased. “Always” Robbe said. 

22:47

After the dinner the boys had moved to the chaise longue in front of the open fireplace. They snoozed under a fluffy polar fleece blanket. Robbe was laying in Sander’s lap with Sander’s arms wrapped around his cute boyfriend. Sander kissed the top of Robbe’s head. He inhaled the mesmerizing smell of his boyfriend. This boy was everything for him, his entire world. He couldn’t believe how his life had changed in the past 16 months… Back then he thought it was normal to have more downs than ups in a relationship. To have his passions called obsessions, to have his humour called silly, to constantly quarrel about small things, to be used as a trophy… 

When he had seen him at the arty underground meeting where a group of young artists sprayed the city’s garbage trucks he immediately knew that he was going to try to win that boy’s heart. Sander had given himself maybe a one percent chance of success, if even that… He had received lots of attention from girls at high school but he soon learned that all of them had only been interested in his good looks. None had actually cared about him... Ever… Britt was the first one with who he had actually had a relationship and even that ended in disaster. He believed that nobody would ever like him for him. He believed that there were only two possibilities. Either he would live his life alone or he would be with someone who treated him horribly… 

But when he saw that boy he decided that he was going to take one more attempt at finding love. He had taken the two weeks between seeing Robbe and showing up at the sea to mentally prepare himself for that moment… He had never in his life been so nervous. All those moments that had stressed him before such as when he competed in an art competition and a jury of professional artists and art critics would criticise every detail of his work now seemed utterly insignificant. Robbe had made him so nervous that he even crewed up the lyrics of “Under pressure”! 

This gamble had been the best one he had ever made in his life... He truly beat the odds and now he only experiences the constant and unconditional love of his amazing boyfriend. Robbe truly was his angel. 

Robbe was tired from a busy week. He tried to move even closer to Sander. Clinging to him like a baby koala clings to its mother... His eyes were closed and a big smile lit up his face. The tiny boy looked absolutely peaceful. Sander admired the sight. Taking care to study and memorize every detail of his boyfriend’s face. Later tomorrow he was going to sketch this to immortalize this moment. He would do it now, if he could, but Robbe was laying on him and there was no way he would disturb his amazing boyfriend. 

**Saturday February 6th, 2021**

15:15

Sander was supposed to work on a piece for his model drawing class but his model, his muse, his boyfriend, his everything had distracted him. So, instead of being behind his easel drawing he was making out with his model on the sofa in his art studio. Robbe broke the kiss and looked Sander in the eyes: “Maybe you should get on with the drawing”. “First I need some more inspiration…” Sander said while looking at Robbe with his puppy eyes. How could Robbe resist that? He grabbed Sander and pulled him closer until their lips met again. 

Suddenly their intimidate moment was disrupted by a ping from Robbe’s phone. Robbe pulled away and got his phone from his pocket causing Sander to shoot him a disappointed look. Robbe’s face turned to horror. “What is it?” Sander asked concerned. Robbe showed him the message he had received:

Jens: [Check out Britt’s insta] 

“Britt is in the past” Sander tried to reassure his boyfriend. “I am not worried about that” Robbe said while looking Sander in the eyes. Over the last year there had been not a single second of doubt in Robbe’s mind about Sander’s absolute commitment to him. “She told the media that I had beaten you up, Sander” Robbe said. He had to swallow hard when saying the word “beaten”. Again it brought those horrible memories back… A tear ran down Robbe’s cheek. Sander’s face turned to anger. If she was about to hurt his boyfriend again… 

Robbe opened Instagram and with shaking hands he looked up Britt’s profile. He closed his eyes when he pushed the button to open her profile, afraid of what he might see. “WTFock” he heard Sander say while laughing out loud. Robbe opened his eyes. Whatever it was, it must not be another attack from her. “WTFock” Robbe repeated Sander’s words as he saw a picture of Britt in a habit. Robbe started to read the caption:

[I’ve committed many sins in my life. I have hurt people that I didn’t want to hurt. I’ve spread horrible lies out of vengeance for losing my boyfriend. The truth is… I’ve never deserved him. He has the purest of hearts and I am happy that he has found someone who can truly love him. I must repent for my sins… Therefore, I have decided to join the Carmelite nuns here in Antwerp to devote my life to prayer and service.

I wish to offer my sincere and most deep regrets for the pain that I’ve caused you. I am not going to ask for your forgiveness because I don’t deserve it. I wish you all the best. With the kindest of wishes, Britt]

Robbe couldn’t believe what he had just read. “I didn’t know she was religious…” Robbe said in disbelief. “Oh yes, she always tried to take me to church on Sundays…” Sander said while laughing. “That’s why I started to work as a volunteer… Giving art lessons on Sundays to children from difficult home situations… The ideal excuse to avoid having to join her to church…” Sander said with a devious smile. “And I thinking… you just like to teach art to children…” Robbe teased. “I prefer to teach art to you…” Sander said while slipping his hands underneath Robbe’s sweater. Robbe giggled. It took him all of his mental strength not to give in… “Sander… You should finish your drawing” Robbe finally managed to say. “I know…” Sander said slightly frustrated. 

**Monday February 8th, 2021**

06:07

“Sander are you ready?” Robbe yelled from downstairs. “A minute… Just checking…” Sander yelled. “Sander’s sunglasses?” Sander yelled. “They’re already in the baby bag” Robbe yelled. “His favourite blanket?” Sander yelled. “I already put that in the bag too…” Robbe yelled, “Come on Sander! I’ve checked already that we have everything with us”. Sander ran down the stairs. “Sorry sweetie. I just get so nervous that we might have forgotten something…” Sander said. Robbe walked over to his boyfriend and stood on his tips so he could give him a kiss on the forehead. “Come! It’s time” Robbe said as he grabbed Sander hand and led him to the car… 

07:14

The boys arrived at Évreux-Fauville Air Base and immediately boarded the airplane. Robbe placed noise cancelling headphones on little Sander’s head to protect the baby from the stressful noise that accompanies a take-off. Sander looked at Robbe who was clearly nervous. “You’re OK?” he asked as he grabbed his boyfriend’s hand. “Yeah” Robbe lied but Sander knew him too well. “Hey, we don’t have to go. We can stay at home if you want…” Sander said. Robbe shook his head. He really wanted to go... 

As soon as the safety instructions had been completed the plane took off. Robbe’s hand clamped around Sander’s with such force that it actually hurt Sander. “Robbe look at me” Sander said. Robbe didn’t reply nor did he turn his head. All he could see was the fireball in the sky… Followed by pieces of airplane debris raining down. He imagined the face of little Sander’s mother just moments before she got engulfed in flames. Tears started to run down his cheeks. “Fock” Sander cursed. He shouldn’t have done this. Robbe was reliving that terrible night when their plane got shot down. 

“Put the plane down!” Sander yelled in panic. “No!” Robbe said, “I cannot avoid airplanes for the rest of my life… I must face my fears”. Sander grabbed Robbe’s hand and put it underneath his t-shirt right above his heart. When the demons in his head started to roar Sander would place his head on Robbe’s chest and relax by the sound of Robbe’s heartbeat. He hoped that the trick would equally well work for Robbe. “Breath with me” Sander whispered. 

When the seatbelt sign finally went out Sander immediately loosened his and Robbe’s seatbelts and took his boyfriend to the bedroom. Sander laid down next to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around Robbe. “I am here. You’re safe” Sander repeatedly whispered in Robbe’s ear. Gradually the boy started to relax… 

11:34 (local time)

The airplane landed in Curaçao. As always it was 27°C today in Curaçao. Curaçao has a very constant temperature. On average year round it is around 28°C with only a few degrees of variation. The absolute coldest temperature ever measured was 20°C and the highest ever 38°C. Sunshine was guaranteed. Sven had warned the boys to use lots of sunscreen because the UV index on Curaçao is extremely high. So, before even leaving the airplane the boys decided to cover themselves in a healthy layer of sunscreen. Next, the boys put on wigs, sunglasses, and Robbe put on a fake moustache. The boys looked at each other and concluded that their disguises were ok. 

The boys arrived at the colourful hotel in the city centre of Willemstad. Upon their arrival the doorman immediately offered the boys a bottle of cold water. “Some refreshment” Robbe sighed relieved as the warm climate was starting to affect him. The boys entered the hotel and walked to the middle one of the three registration desks. “Welcome, may I have your name” a young woman asked. “Sure, we have a reservation under the name of David Steel” Robbe said. He could almost not suppress his inner fun as he gave her the made up name. His fake name ”IJzermans” had become too well known so now he had invented “Steel”. Sander equally could barely suppress his laugh at hearing the Bowie reference. “Let me check that…” the woman replied. While she was typing the information in the computer she looked at the baby that Sander was carrying. “Is that your son?” she asked. “Yes, he’s OUR son” Robbe said proudly making sure to stress the word “our”. “He’s so cute” the lady said with a smile. “Ah yes, here we are. The imperial suite. That’s on the second floor. Here are the key cards for your room. Please enjoy your stay!” she said. “Thank you” the boys replied. 

The boys entered the hotel room. “OMG” Robbe said, “This is focking nice”. He grabbed his boyfriend and pulled him in for a kiss. “You know what I would like?” Sander asked. “No” Robbe said. “After such a long 9 and a half hour flight… I would like to refresh myself…” Sander said. “You need me for that?” Robbe teased barely able to suppress his smile so he looked down to hide his face. “Who else is going to wash my back?” Sander asked fully seriously. Robbe giggled. They loved to tease each other almost constantly. 

Sander took his son from the stroller and placed him in the crib. The boy was exhausted from the travel so he was sleeping peacefully. Sander then put the baby monitor next to the crib and walked back to Robbe. He grabbed his boyfriends hand and lead him to the bathroom. Robbe had a flashback when he saw the fully glass shower in the bathroom. “Can we relive that evening? Or at least part of it” Robbe asked. Sander nodded. “I am so sorry for…” Sander said but Robbe shut him up with a kiss. “Just don’t run naked through Willemstad” Robbe joked. “No, I promise… I will stay with you. Forever” Sander replied. Sander placed the baby monitor on the sink before slipping his hands underneath Robbe’s t-shirt and pulling it off. His hands delicately rubbing Robbe’s chest in the process. Robbe in turn pulled Sander’s t-shirt off before finding Sander’s lips and kissing him deep. 

The boys kept kissing while they clumsily tried to remove their pants and underwear without breaking the kiss. Luckily over the last year and a bit the boys had build up experience doing exactly that and they succeeded in getting fully naked without their lips separating even for a second. Sander pushed his boyfriend against the wall making sure to shield Robbe’s head with his hand. A few moments later Robbe broke the kiss and started to move down. He placed feather light kisses all over Sander’s naked chest. Then he found his boyfriends nipples and started to play with them with his tongue. Sander loved that. It drove him crazy when Robbe did that. Sander started to moan. Robbe kept moving down and started to shower Sander’s belly in kisses. “Robbe… Robbe… Robbe…” Sander kept repeating as he got carried away to the land of bliss. 

Suddenly Robbe moved up again and looked Sander in the eyes. “Time to shower” he simply said and he grabbed Sander’s hand and led him into the shower. He turned on the water. Carefully making sure to point the shower head to the wall and feeling at the temperature with his hand until he was satisfied. He put the shower head back and opened the tab completely. Sander pushed Robbe underneath the water spray as his head met Robbe’s in an intimate kiss. Robbe wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and placed his hands on Sander’s back. Sander’s hands moved through Robbe’s curly long hair. “Sander, I need you” Robbe moaned. Sander broke the kiss and grabbed Robbe by the waist and started to rotate Robbe around. Sander started to kiss Robbe’s neck and shoulder. His hands moved to Robbe’s hips and he held on firmly... 

13:17

After their long shower the boys had moved to the bed. Sander’s head rested on Robbe’s chest and robbe was playing with Sander’s still wet hair. Sander lifted his head and looked Robbe into the eyes. “So, you don’t think we should marry naked with a tie?” he teased. Robbe understood that Sander was really trying to relive that evening. So, he could erase the pain that had happened the previous time and substitute it with a new wonderful memory. “I more like the idea of the white suits” Robbe engaged into Sander’s fantasy. “We fly all of our family and friends over to Curaçao and we marry in this room…” Sander said. For a moment Robbe got worried that Sander might be getting a manic episode but he soon realized it was still part of the play. “Sounds nice… But we’re already set to marry in Paris” Robbe said. 

Suddenly the boys were interrupted by cries from little Sander. “It’s your turn” Robbe said. Sander got up and walked over to the crib. “Someone needs my attention…” he said as he lifted the baby up. “You’re hungry? I will make you a tasty bottle” Sander said. He walked over to the bed and placed his son in Robbe’s arms before going off to make the bottle. “Tssssst” Robbe tried to comfort his son, “Daddy is making your bottle. You will soon be able to fill up your little tummy”. 

Moments later Sander returned with the bottle and he gave it to Robbe who started to feed the little one. “It’s kind of confusing if he’s going to start calling us both daddy…” Robbe said. “True” Sander confirmed. “So, how should he call us?” Robbe asked. “I am his dad and you’re his mum” Sander said with a straight face. Robbe pushed Sander away in a jokingly irritated manner. “What?” Sander asked. “Seriously Sander” Robbe said. “Oké, Oké… Do you have a proposal?” Sander asked. “Hmmmm, don’t know… You?” Robbe replied. “I am his daddy and you’re his papa?” Sander suggested. Robbe smiled: I like that”. 

**Tuesday February 9th, 2021**

07:30

The boys woke up after their first night in Curaçao. Sander was spooning Robbe while his right arm was tightly wrapped around his boyfriend. Sander placed a delicate kiss in Robbe’s neck just before Robbe turned around to face his boyfriend. Robbe smiled, like he always did when he saw Sander’s face. Sander carefully moved a lock of hair away from Robbe’s eyes with his index finger before stroking his cheek with his thumb. “Kiss me already” an impatient Robbe giggled. “Good morning to you too” Sander teased. “Good morning my sunshine” Robbe quickly said before moving forward to reduce the distance between his lips and Sander’s. Their lips met… A wave of ecstasy travelled through their bodies. Robbe placed his hand delicately on Sander’s neck while Sander started to play with Robbe’s long fluffy hair. 

15:36

Robbe and Sander went to the private beach attached to their hotel. It had an infinity pool filled with cerulean blue coloured water that just seemed to be one with the ocean behind. Located on the private beach was a cocktail bar. The boys sat down and looked at the cocktail card. “Maybe a sex on the beach?” Sander teased. “Sander…” Robbe said while quickly looking around to see if anyone had overheard them. “I am talking about the cocktail…” Sander said while laughing out loud. “I am not so sure you were…” Robbe teased back with a wink. “I think I am going to take a strawberry daiquiri…” Robbe decided. “I’ll take something else then…” Sander said, “I’ll get the strawberry flavour from your lips…”. Robbe giggled. “Good afternoon gentlemen, have you already decided?” a waiter asked. “Yes” Sander replied, “A strawberry daiquiri and a mojito”. “Certainly” the waiter replied as he left to return to the bar. 

A few moments later the waiter returned with the drinks. The boys cheered and took a sip. Robbe put his hand on Sander’s hand and started to massage it. Sander looked up and stared into the eyes of his boyfriend. “I love you so much” Robbe said. Sander smiled. “I love you too Robin” Sander replied. “And I also love this little one” Sander added while stroking the cheek of little Sander. “Hehe” the baby giggled as his dad stroked his cheek. 

17:21

The boys had left the hotel to explore the city. They first visited the fortress in front of their hotel that had been turned into a shopping mall. They climbed up the ancient stone steps to the top of the fortification walls and looked out over the ocean and the city. Sander quickly got his camera out as he tried to capture the splashing of water when a wave hit the rocks underneath the fortress. After the fortress they decided to cross the bay by the floating pedestrian bridge. But before they could get on the bridge the alarm sounded and the gates of the bridge closed. The boys watched as the massive bridge started to open by rotating across the water surface. Suddenly a voice said: “You can be waiting here for a long time… The bridge stays open for 45 minutes… There’s a free ferry if you need to be at the opposite side…”. The boys turned around and they saw a local woman giving them a smile. “Thank you ma’am” Robbe replied. “There’s the ferry” the lady said while pointing to a boat about 50 meters further.  


Robbe wanted to go to the ferry but he got stopped by Sander who insisted on taking some pics of the bridge moving across the water surface. Moments later, the two boys were on the ferry getting across the bay. Sander continued to take pictures from both the port and starboard sides of the boat. On the port side he could see the big “koningin Juliana bridge” and from the starboard side he could see the opening bridge with the ocean behind it. 

When the boys reached the other side they continued to explore the city. “That’s a beautiful church” Robbe said pointing to the orange-yellow building. They wanted to go inside to take a look but at the gate they noticed a little plaque saying ‘Prosecutors office’. “Oh” Robbe said surprised while Sander did a Google search. “The building was built as a temple by the freemasons, that’s why it looks so church like…” Sander explained. 

**Wednesday February 10th, 2021**

08:00

Robbe’s alarm woke the two boys up. “Good morning my prince” Robbe whispered into Sander’s ear. “Hmmm” Sander said who clearly needed more time to wake up. Robbe checked the news on his phone and he got super-excited. He put his hand on Sander’s bare shoulder and started to shake the boy. “Robbe… I am not as young as you… I need my sleep” he jokingly said. “Watson won the election” Robbe exclaimed. This news got Sander awake. “That’s wonderful” he said. 

Robbe immediately called President-elect Watson: “Good morning Mr. President. Congratulations with your election!”. “Thank you, your Majesty” Mr. Watson said with a sleepy voice as he had remained awake to follow the updates on the counting of the votes. “I heard you have disappeared?” Mr. Watson asked. “We’re on holiday… Incognito… On Curaçao” Robbe said. “Oh, Curaçao an amazing place! I visited the island myself… Let’s see… About eight years ago. But then you’re close by and so you stop over in Washington when you return to France…” Mr. Watson said. “Huh… Well… I must discuss that with my government first… As a minor I cannot have diplomatic meetings without the agreement of the regent…” Robbe explained. “Yes, I see. Well, let me know if you get the agreement…” Mr. Watson replied. “When will you take up office?” Robbe asked. “Well, I am now going to be really busy because nearly four thousand positions need to be filled: my cabinet, my Chief of Staff, all the Special Advisors, Administrators of the various government agencies,… All these people need to be vetted… And we must familiarize ourselves with the operations of the executive branch… Hence, my inauguration will be in about 7 weeks on April 3rd” Mr. Watson said. “Wow… That gives you…” Robbe said while taking a break to do some math in his head, “Just over 15 minutes per position that needs to be filled…”. 

**Thursday February 11th, 2021**

09:24

After their breakfast in the hotel the boys had decided to explore the sparsely populated western part of the island. They first took a small detour to the Saliña Sint Marie to go and spot the flamingos and made a stop at “Jan Kok” manor house where a local artist exhibits her work. The outside of the manor house was decorated with lots of colourful statutes. Her work was extremely colourful and use very intense colours. Hence, a bit the opposite of Sander’s who generally preferred to either draw in black and white or paint with more dull colours. However, when Sander got into a more manic state his use of colour would increase and eventually it would become as colourful and intense as the work of this artist. 

The boys learned the horrible history of the manor house. More than a hundred slaves were employed to work on the plantation where salt was collected from the nearby Saliña Sint Marie, as well as crops and animals raised. The owner, Jan Kok, treated his slaves with exceptional cruelty. The slaves employed in the salt collection generally became blind in about five years from exposure to the intense sunlight and the salt. When the slaves finally died from exhaustion and lack of proper nutrition their bodies were dumped into the ocean. The boys left the manor house deeply impressed by the horrors that had happened there. 

After their visit to the manor house the boys returned to the main road to continue their journey to Westpoint. This involved driving through unpaved hilly roads but the boys enjoyed the adventurous part. On route they stopped by a small shop where they bought some coconuts to drink. The owner of the store opened the coconuts with a machete and inserted a drinking straw. “Hmmmm” the boys said as they enjoyed the refreshing drink. 

11:02

Robbe and Sander were at ‘Grote knip’ beach. Sven had told the boys about this beach as he had discovered it last year when he visited Curaçao. This beach is located away from the capital of Willemstad and hence few tourists came there. The water was completely clear and had the most beautiful turquoise blue colour. “Wow” Robbe said with his mouth wide open. Sander immediately got his camera out. “Allez, poseer” Sander shouted to his boyfriend. “There in front of the rock wall with the giant cactuses on top” Sander said while he pointed. Sander snapped several pictures. “And one in front of the ocean” Sander said.

“Done?” Robbe asked impatiently. “Yes” Sander replied. Robbe immediately pulled off his t-shirt and removed his pants. He had already put on his swimming pants in the hotel. He threw his t-shirt and pants on their lounger and immediately ran into the ocean. Robbe had not expected that the rocks would feel so sharp underneath his bare feet. “Ai” Robbe yelled but luckily the sharp stones were limited to just a few small spots near the water front. Sander followed his boyfriend’s example. After removing his clothing he ran into the ocean while yelling “Woooooooh”. He hadn’t expected it but the water felt colder than expected. At least initially because within a minute or so his body had acclimated to the water temperature. 

As Sander reached his boyfriend he got surprised by Robbe who teased him by splashing water into his direction. Sander dived and swam under water to Robbe’s position. His head popped from underneath the water surface and he shot up grabbing Robbe by the shoulders and pushing him down under water. They looked into each other’s eyes and soon lips met. Just like 16 months ago in the swimming pool at linkerover… 

The two boys came back up from under the water and Robbe instantly jumped into Sander’s neck. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend while he was giggling from happiness. “Let’s swim a bit” Sander said. Robbe let loose of his boyfriend and he said “First to reach the rock wall?”. “First to the rocks” Sander replied with a smile. “What does the winner get?” Robbe demanded to know. “A massage” Sander said with a sneaky smile, “I will win and I can use one… My shoulder still feels a bit stiff from our tennis game last week…”. “Which I won” Robbe teased. “Baby, you know I am the better swimmer” Sander teased. 

The boys set off swimming… Robbe was giving it everything he got. He was going to beat Sander and earn a massage from his boyfriend. Of course, he would reiterate it and care for Sander’s shoulder. However, as Robbe reached he saw that Sander was already there. “I won” Sander beamed, “I am getting my massage”. Robbe didn’t complain. He loved feeling the soft skin of his boyfriend with his hands. He was going to shower that shoulder with thousands of delicate kisses to make Sander feel better. 

20:11

The boys got back to their hotel room. “Remove your t-shirt and lay on the bed” Robbe instructed. “Hmmm, you’re joining me?” Sander asked. “Sander…” Robbe said while he got the bottle of massage oil, that he bought earlier today, from the plastic bag. “Which shoulder hurts?” Robbe asked. “Both” Sander said with a sneaky smile. “Strange, you didn’t hold your tennis rocket in your left hand…” Robbe teased. “Ok… Ok, my right shoulder” Sander laughed. “It’s OK, you get two shoulders massaged for the price of one” Robbe said with a wink. “Un prix d’amis?” Sander teased. “Fock man Sander, you always succeed at twisting me around your little finger… It’s not fair” Robbe joked causing the two boys to erupt in laughter. 

Sander turned on his back and Robbe went to sit across his back. He opened the bottle and let a small stream of massage oil flow on Sander’s bare skin. Next, he dipped his hands in the oil and made sure they are well covered before starting to massage Sander’s shoulders. “Does it feel good?” Robbe asked. “Divine” Sander replied. Robbe’s warm hands glided over Sander’s soft skin. Then Robbe moved down and placed a kiss on Sander’s right shoulder. “Hmmmm” Sander moaned. Then another one… And another… Robbe kept switching between massaging and kissing Sander’s shoulders. With every kiss Robbe’s long hair touched Sander’s shoulder and so very soon Robbe’s entire face and hair was covered in massage oil. “Sander…” Robbe said, “I think we’ll need a shower after the massage”. “I am a bit tired so can’t we shower tomorrow?” Sander teased. “If you want to sleep covered in oil…” Robbe teased back. “Hmmm, you’re right… Your hand could slip away and I might have to sleep without your touch for a whole night” Sander teased. “We wouldn’t want that” Robbe replied. And so the boys went off for a long hot shower… 

**Friday February 11th, 2021**

08:07

The boys arrived at the Curaçao Sea Aquarium. “We’re going to the aquarium?” Robbe asked. “Yes and no…” Sander replied, “If you want… We can go and snorkel with dolphins”. “Wait, what?” Robbe replied excited. 

08:31

The boys got into the water. The trainer called a dolphin over for the boys to pose with. Sander got the GoPro HERO 9 camera, that he had borrowed from a friend, from his bag and asked a trainer to take a picture of him and his boyfriend with the dolphin. After the photo session it was time to follow the dolphin for a swim in the beautifully clear lagoon water. 

12:16

The boys sat down at the beach bar and examined the menu card. “What do you think?” Robbe asked. “I would say prosciutto ham & melon for a starter followed by pan roasted fillet of salmon with dill sauce as a main with French fries as extra. And sorbet with vanilla ice, fruit and whipped cream as dessert…” Sander said while salivating. “Sounds wonderful” Robbe said, “I follow your choices”. “And what do you want to drink?” Sander asked. “Let us get a bottle of sparkling water and a bottle of white wine” Robbe suggested.

While they waited for the food Sander started to look through the images from their dolphin experience. Robbe had moved to the chair next to Sander so he could also see the images. “This one?” Sander asked. “Yes, I like that one” Robbe replied. Sander selected it for upload on Instagram and… “Noooo…” Robbe said as he noticed that Sander was once again applying the black and white filter. “Believe me, it’s more artistic that way…” Sander said. As caption he wrote:

I, I wish you could swim  
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim  
Though nothing, nothing will keep us together  
We can beat them, forever and ever  
Oh, we can be heroes, just for one day

“My hero” Robbe said proudly while giving Sander a kiss on his cheek. Sander turned his head to Robbe and he gave a quick teasing peak on Robbe’s lips. Robbe grabbed on to Sander and pulled him in for a full make out session. The boys were interrupted by the waiter who brought them their drinks. However, as soon as the waiter had put down the drinks the boys continued with their make out session that would last until the food finally arrived…

13:42

As they walked by the many shops on Mambo beach Sander suddenly stopped and pointed to a statue in one of the shops. “A miniature version of the one at the hotel entrance” he said. “You want it?” Robbe asked. Sander nodded. They learned that these colourful statues are called “ChiChi” and were produced by single mothers as a way to earn an income. After buying the statue to boys ate some pancakes in a little beachfront shop before going to the beach and enjoying the rest of the afternoon talking, hugging and kissing each other on the lounger interrupted by periodic swims in the ocean. 

**Sunday February 14th, 2021**

07:39

The boys were having breakfast at the hotel. “No croques” Sander said disappointed. Robbe got his phone out and started to Google… “In about 10 minutes by car we can get to a place that sells croques” he suggested. “I enjoy traditions such as the croques on Sundays but I am not obsessed over it” Sander laughed. “Having breakfast with the sweetest, cutest, most beautiful boy on earth is all that matters to me” Sander said causing Robbe to blush. “At least they have good coffee” Robbe said with a smile. “Yes, coffee in the morning is essential” Sander stated. “They have pancakes” Sander said delighted. “Hmmm, yes” Robbe replied. A few moments later the boys had filled their plates with pancakes, scrambled egg, a croissant, and fresh fruit.

11:11

The boys arrived at the airport. Sadly their wonderful vacation on Curaçao was over. Sven had approved the meeting with President-elect Watson so the next stop was going to be Washington D.C.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The inspiration for this chapter was my own trip to Curaçao earlier this year with my boyfriend. I have to say that the people there are the friendliest people I have ever met. Highly recommended vacation destination.


	38. Meeting the President-elect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: this chapter deals with Sander’s bipolarity
> 
> Happy 21:21 everyone!!! Today marks exactly one year since that unforgettable moment… Hard to believe how fast time passes… I wish I had a more joyful chapter to celebrate this anniversary but sadly this is the point where we are in this story…

**Sunday February 14th, 2021**

11:54

Robbe’s phone rang. “Your majesty” madam Lapierre, the minister of health said. “Minutes ago the European Medicines Agency has formally approved the first corona vaccine!” she shouted all excited. “That’s wonderful news” Robbe exclaimed. “And we think that they will likely approve the second vaccine next week…” she added. “When can we get it?” Robbe asked. “I just called the company and they will deliver two million doses on March first. They promised that we will receive a total of ten million doses in the first month…” madam Lapierre explained.

“You should get vaccinated” madam Lapierre told Robbe. “I am not in a risk group” Robbe countered. “I know but a sizable proportion of the population is still a bit distrustful about the safety of the vaccine and seeing you getting vaccinated would convince them that it’s safe…” she explained. Robbe could see her logic but it still felt wrong. With a lack of vaccines first those at highest risk should get them… “My dad is much older than me… Maybe he could get publicly vaccinated?” Robbe argued. “Don’t think that’s a good idea… He’s not very popular… After he resigned within 24 hours… And people haven’t forgotten his nasty ex-girlfriend Marie…” madam Lapierre countered. 

“ok, so what about my maternal grandparents? They could be publicly vaccinated and I can be there when they are to show that I trust the safety of the vaccine enough to have it administered to my grandparents?” Robbe suggested. “That’s a good compromise” madam Lapierre replied, “But, I still fear that most critics will only be convinced when you and Sander get vaccinated”. “What about this?” Robbe suggested, “In March we only have very limited number of vaccines, not enough to vaccinate even all those in the highest risk groups. So, that some will refuse the vaccine will not yet be a problem. But when more vaccines become available and vaccine hesitancy is starting to become a problem than I and Sander could get vaccinated…”. “I like that suggestion” madam Lapierre replied.

12:27

Robbe was sitting with his son on his lap while holding a children’s book with drawings in front of the baby. “House” Robbe said while showing a drawing of a house. “Flower” he said at another page. Then on the page after that Robbe said: “Chicken”. “Wait” Sander said. Robbe shot a confused look at Sander while he was looking through his backpack. “Didactical material” Sander explained as he got the little chicken toy that he had won so many years ago by fishing plastic ducks at the local fair. “Noooo…” Robbe exclaimed, “You brought that with you…”. 

Sander switched on the chicken in front of his son: “Hiii, I am a chicken… I live on the farm…”. “On the farm!” Sander giggled. Robbe rolled his eyes at seeing his boyfriend act so silly but he could not deny how extraordinary cute Sander looked when he was all playful and giggling… “I am a happy chicken… hihihi” the toy continued. Little Sander giggled when the chicken started to laugh. “He likes his papa’s laugh” Sander teased. “Are you calling me a chicken?” Robbe faked annoyance. “No… Based on the fact that you’re favourite toy was a stuffed mouse I think you’re a mouse” Sander teased. Robbe laughed. “Your dad can sometimes be such a silly guy” Robbe told the baby. Robbe imagined how things would be in a few years when their son was old enough to make jokes too. He imaged how their son and his husband would be playing together making one silly joke after the other and Robbe would just watch it all happen and adore all the cuteness. 

“It’s time for his bottle…” Robbe reminded Sander. “Ok, I’ll go and prepare one so that our little one grows up” Sander said with a smile. Robbe took sniffie and held it in front of his son. “Sander thinks I look like that… But you disagree right?” Robbe asked the little one. The baby just grabbed the stuffed mouse and started to play. “I don’t have such hairs under my nose, right?” Robbe asked the baby. “I would look rather weird if I had…” Robbe said. “What are you all telling him?” Robbe heard Sander’s voice coming from behind them. “I am just teaching our son that I am not a mouse” Robbe replied. “Ohhhh… But mice are cute and so are you…” Sander said. “You should take a course on deductive reasoning because there are some errors in your premises…” Robbe replied. “Your intellectual papa can sometimes be so annoying…” Sander teasingly said to the baby. “Be careful… Or you will have to sleep in the sofa tonight…” Robbe teased back but he couldn’t suppress his laugh. Sander erupted in laughter too… 

13:09

Robbe received a call from Sven. “The news about the corona vaccine has made the market bullish again… The CAC40 is up by 73 points. As the arrival of a vaccine was expected the Consumer Confidence Index for this month is 106 up from 98 previous month. So, the economy is gradually starting to bounce back from the COVID-19 tragedy” Sven said. “That’s wonderful news…” Robbe replied, “But we’ll have a long way to recover from this tragedy… Three million people lost their jobs… We must make sure that they all get a new job…”. “Well, the good news is that we currently see a slight increase in the number of vacancies… But we still have a long way to go…” Sven explained. 

13:51

After the boys had finished lunch Robbe opened his bag and got out a book. Sander watched his boyfriend and said surprised “Power, sex, suicide?”. Robbe giggled. “I like the middle part…” Sander stated with a grin. “Sander… It’s not that kind of book…” Robbe explained, “It’s a book about the mitochondria, the little power plants inside our cells without which complex life would not be possible. The sex part is because you inherit them only from your mother and the author proposes that these energy plants are the reason for the existence of two sexes, and the suicide refers to the fact that they also regulate controlled cell death”. “My intellectual” Sander said with a smile. “My artist” Robbe replied before going in for a kiss.

16:54

The boys landed on Andrews Air Force base where Marine One was waiting for them.

17:07

Marine One landed on the South lawn of the White House. After the arrest of Acting-President McDuff, the newly elected Speaker of the House, Elaine Thompson had taken over as Acting-President of the United States of America until the inauguration of the newly elected President Watson. “Your majesty. Welcome to the White House” madam Thompson welcomed Robbe. “Thank you Madam President” Robbe replied. “Welcome your majesty” President-Elect Watson said. “Thank you Mr. President-Elect” Robbe replied. “Your Majesty” Mr. Adams, the future First Husband, welcomed Robbe. “Nice to meet you Mr. Adams” Robbe replied. 

Then with a little cry baby Sander drew all attention to himself. “What an absolute cutie” the Acting-President said. In the meantime Sander had taken his son from the Maxi-Cosi and started to comfort him. “No need to be afraid” Sander said, “daddy is here and look papa too”. “Hehe” baby Sander laughed. “What an easy child” Mr. Watson remarked with astonishment. “Actually…” Robbe said, “Sander’s parents, who sometimes care for him, say they can spend half an hour or more to make him stop crying… But Sander has a miraculous effect on our son…”. “Robbe isn’t fully speaking the truth…” Sander interrupted, “He too has this effect on our son”. Robbe blushed. “But he really looks like you” Mr. Watson who had in the meantime moved closer to the baby remarked. “Lots of people can’t believe that he’s adopted…” Sander replied with a smile. 

After the formal welcome and posing in front of the assembled press for a handshake the group moved to the Oval Office. “Would you like a private tour of the White House?” Mr. Adams asked Sander. “Sure, that would be lovely” Sander said before walking over to Robbe to kiss him goodbye. Because even though they would only be separated for an hour or so the boys always kissed each other goodbye. Mr. Adams was moved by the display of affection between the two boys and decided to reiterate their action by kissing his husband goodbye. “I’ll take the baby with me?” Sander asked. “Yes, sure” Robbe replied. “Come little one… We’re going to explore the White House… It’s a big white house located in Washington D.C. where the American President lives…” Sander said as he walked out of the Oval Office. 

Robbe was joined by madam Francine Beaumont, the new foreign minister of France. 

“You know I own my election to you” President-Elect Watson said. “What?” Robbe responded in disbelief. “Yes, I believe that the love that you have shown for Sander has really melted a lot of people’s hearts. Look, I even won some of the most social conservative states who have never before voted in any openly gay person to a federal office…”. “And well, you’ve saved the world from WWIII…” Mr. Watson added.

“Back to business” President Thompson said, “Our intelligence agencies have discovered that Tom Brandt stole the top-secret construction manuals for the W80 thermonuclear warhead”. “W80?” Robbe asked. “It’s a variable yield warhead with a maximum yield of 150 kilotons of TNT, or ten times Hiroshima” President Thompson clarified. “What is the chance that the Iranians can construct the technically complex parts of such as warhead such as the hollow pits?” Robbe asked. Robbe’s countless hours of late night studying on various topics such as politics, economics, diplomacy, healthcare, education, and in this case military were starting to show results. “Well, by themselves it would be unlikely but with Tom’s help…” President Thompson replied. “So, this could result in another nuclear arms race?” Robbe asked. “Yes, it could… And Tom could spread this information to other countries…” President Thompson replied. “Shit!” Robbe exclaimed. 

“Huh… Last week our counter terrorism team intercepted 15 kilogram of lithium deuteride“ madam Beaumont said. This revelation shocked everyone, even Robbe who had not yet been briefed. “Where?” Robbe demanded to know. “A ship on the Mediterranean sea…” madam Beaumont replied. “Furthermore, they also found seven 1 kilo beryllium ingots on this ship…” she added. “Someone is trying to build a thermonuclear bomb…” President Thompson sighed in horror. “We must call a session of the UN Security Council” Robbe said determined.  


“We will not allow Iran to possess a weapon that is ten times stronger than the Hiroshima bomb” President Thompson stated fiercely, “Before the end of my presidency this issue must be fixed…”. She looked at President-Elect Watson and said: “I won’t let you start your presidency with a strike on Iran. If that’s what is necessary than I will do it and take all responsibility for it”. “Wait! What? Are we talking about bombing Iran?” Robbe shouted. “Yes” President Thompson said firmly, “If in 6 weeks there is no diplomatic solution and they haven’t seized the development of the thermonuclear weapon than I will stop them from building one”. 

This statement left everyone in the room surprised and horrified. Especially Robbe who felt that President Thompson was putting all the weight on his shoulders. The US and Iran don’t have the best relationship so it looked unlikely that US diplomacy would fix this. Hence, the only reason to tell this to Robbe was that she expected France to fix the problem for her. Robbe’s blood was boiling. This was so unfair. And if things went wrong and he couldn’t find a diplomatic solution would she then blame him? Would she say that he had been incompetent to safe her own skin? Robbe thought of how many people might die in these strikes and worse… This could result in an all-out war with countless casualties… These thoughts speeded through Robbe’s head making him feel sick. 

“You know him best… Why is Tom doing this?” President-Elect Watson asked Director Goodwin of the CIA. “We’ve spend a lot of time studying Tom’s behaviour and we have reached the conclusion that the only thing Tom cares about is Tom… He’s not loyal to Iran’s regime. Instead, he’s most definitely going to try to take over the country himself. At least behind the scenes with some puppet Iranian as public face of his new regime…”. “So, we tell that to the Iranians…” Robbe suggested. “As if they will believe us…” President Thompson replied. 

“But if all Tom cares about is his own power…” President-Elect Watson said, “Then he would never do anything that could provoke a war with us… He knows he would lose that…”. “He probably hopes that he can build a nuclear weapon before anyone found out and in that way ensure that his regime cannot be overthrown…” Director Goodwin explained. 

The meeting was over. Robbe shook the hand of President Thompson who reminded him: “Six weeks”. Robbe thought back about how carefree his life was a year ago… Now he had to prevent another war… The second one in just three months… Some moments he really wanted to quit. Go back to his old carefree life of having fun with Sander. Doing simple domestic stuff all day like making croques together, watching movies, and of course making out. But he also felt a huge responsibility… If he quitted what could happen next? What if the person who took over had bad intensions… Then he would have to live with the guilt that it was his fault… That if he hadn’t quit that the horrible things would not have happened… 

20:17

The boys walked into the hotel bar and Robbe instantly noticed the girl with the long brown hair who was staring at her phone. She was sitting, with her mother, at a dark brown wooden pedestal table in a modern red bergère fauteuil. Robbe recognized her immediately and walked over excitedly. “Jana!” he shouted louder than he intended. Jana looked up and smiled when she saw the familiar long curly brown hair boy and his cute boyfriend. Jana jumped up and hugged Robbe. “I’ve missed you so much” she said. “I missed you too” Robbe replied. She was going to hug Sander next but before she could she noticed the baby… “OMG, what a little cutie” Jana exclaimed. “Hehe” the baby giggled when Sander took him out of the stroller before presenting him proudly to Jana. “He looks like you” she said in amazement. Sander smiled. He couldn’t be prouder of his son. 

“So how are you?” Robbe asked interested. “I am Ok…” Jana replied, “But I heard that Jens has a boyfriend…”. “Yep… Lucas” Robbe replied. “So, have you already found someone?” Robbe probed. Jana looked down but Robbe could see her cheeks getting slightly red. “Oh, you have…” he probed further. Sander gave a little push to his boyfriend’s side, under the table, to let Robbe know that he shouldn’t be pushing so much. Jana looked up and she admitted: “Yes, Li… Li Wang”. She took her phone and started to look through her pictures… “Here he is” she said while showing her phone to Robbe. He saw a handsome boy with undercut black hair with a long fringe, beautiful brown eyes, and a big smile. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans. “He’s a freshman at Columbia, majoring in economics… He’s part of the Columbia Lion’s swimming and diving team” Jana explained. “An athlete” Robbe said. “Sander is a good swimmer too” he added. Only he himself and Sander would understand the full meaning behind that statement… Sander suppressed his grin. 

“Sorry, we don’t have much time and I must speak with your mum” Robbe apologized to Jana before getting up and following her mum to her hotel room. “That leaves us…” Sander sighed. “Am I that bad company?” Jana asked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that…” Sander apologized. “We don’t know each other well…” Jana said with a slight tone of sadness in her voice. “Yeah…” Sander replied, “But let’s get to know each other better… Like tell me something about Robbe before I met him?”. Jana shook her head. They were going to talk a bit to learn to know each other better and Sander’s first question was about Robbe… “You mean that annoying boy who couldn’t give me and Jens a second of time alone?” Jana asked causing both of them to erupt in laughter. 

“He really changed a lot in 2019…” Jana finally said. “You know before that he was just joking around all the time with the stupid jokes of ‘the broerrrs’. Acting childish… Actually, being really irritating… Not as bad as Moyo though… I once spent, what was supposed to be a romantic weekend between myself and Jens, in the Ardennes with Robbe and Moyo. Zero romantism… Mood freezing… But then he started to grow up…” Jana explained. 

Sander disagreed. He knew that it wouldn’t matter how Robbe would behave… How silly or ‘irritating’ his jokes would be… He would just sit there and stare mesmerized at that boy. His boy. He would stare at those beautiful brown eyes… They were the first thing that he had noticed when he saw his angel for the first time as the rest of his face was hidden by that mask. Those and of course his fluffy brown curly hair… Instantly he had felt such an inexplicable attraction to that boy… For the next days he had been daydreaming about him… Britt had made some nasty comments when Sander was daydreaming during their conversations such as “What obsession is now going on in your head?”. Then he saw that boy again in the parc… Sander had seen and recognized him but Robbe hadn’t. Later when they talked about it Robbe had revealed to Sander that he remembered a very strange feeling that day in the parc. He HAD to look around where he could only see the backside of a boy walking away in opposite direction… Robbe didn’t know why but he felt attracted to that boy like a magnet… Even though he had not even seen his face… That event had left Robbe shocked and confused. 

After that accidental meeting in the parc Sander couldn’t constrain himself anymore. He had to know who that boy was… In the parc Sander had recognized that his angel was friends with the ex of his girlfriend. So, he instantly looked up the Instagram account of Jens and there he was… The most beautiful boy he had ever seen… His cheeks forming massive dimples every time he smiled. Such a beautiful smile… Then his girlfriend talked about going to the sea with some friends. As soon as Sander heard her say Noor’s name he knew that the boy would also be there… He immediately got overly excited… Unable to conceal his excitement from Britt but she luckily didn’t suspect anything… She simply thought that he was manic again. Like she always did whenever he found anything he liked. Every time that he was enjoying himself she was judging him… 

“Earth to major Tom” Jana said, bringing Sander back from his trance. “Sorry, I…” Sander started but Jana finished: “You were thinking about him”. Sander nodded. “I am so glad for the two of you… Few people ever find such perfect love…” she said with a smile. “I never thought I was worthy of such love…” Sander admitted. Jana grabbed his hand and looked him in the eyes. “You are” she reassured him. Sander smiled. 

“Seems you’re having fun” Robbe’s voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. “Hey baby” Sander said. “It was nice to meet you again Jana but our plane home is waiting…” Robbe apologized. “Have a safe trip home” Jana replied with a smile. After hugging goodbye it was time for the boys to leave… 

21:21

The boys entered the bedroom. Sander locked the door and turned towards Robbe. They looked into each other’s eyes. Without speaking a single word they communicated all their feelings towards each other. The love and the desire… Sander didn’t waste a minute… He instantly put his hand behind Robbe’s head before pushing him against the wall in a passionate and all-consuming kiss that only ended when both boys were gasping for air. 

Robbe pushed himself and Sander away from the wall and towards the bed. The boys fell in the bed, Robbe on top of Sander. Robbe giggled from happiness as he moved his hands underneath Sander’s shirt. The feeling of Sander’s warm skin, his perfectly toned body, the smell of his perfume… Robbe pulled off Sander’s shirt and he started to shower his boyfriends neck with delicate kisses. Suddenly, Robbe stopped and moved upwards to look Sander in the eyes. Robbe was staring at Sander with a lovesick face and Sander knew that Robbe was trying to collect his thoughts to say something. They rarely tried to truly express their love with words because every time either boy tried they failed… Words could not describe their love for one another… The only way to convey that message was by how they looked at each other and through skin contact… Something as simple as their foreheads touching could convey such a powerful message of love between the two of them… People would almost believe that the boys communicated telepathically… 

Then Robbe started… “Before I met you I was lost… I was hiding my true self… I was trying to be what I believed that other people expected me to be… I was unhappy… Lonely… Broken…” Robbe said. A tear ran down the side of Sander’s face as he felt the pain in Robbe’s words. Robbe continued. “But then I met you” he said with the biggest smile on his face possible. “When I was with you I felt safe. Loved… I no longer had to hide myself… I was free… And I cannot thank you enough for that… You’re my sunshine… My raison d'être… My boyfriend and best friend… My soulmate… These last fifteen months has been the happiest time in my life… I am looking forward to spending another century with you… No, erase that… I want it to last infinitely… I want to take you on a journey and show you all the stars in the entire universe… And when we have seen every bit of this universe I will take you to the next one… I am yours forever! In every universe!” Robbe continued. 

Sander smiled at Robbe’s love serenade. He wanted to pull his boyfriend in for a kiss but he resisted that urge. First, he had to give Robbe a love serenade of his own… Even though no words could fully capture the love that he felt for that boy. “My disease has not made my life easy… I was constantly in a storm… A lost ship in the rough ocean… Often I drove into the cliffs and crashed… But then you came and became my rock in the wild sea… You gave me the peace, safety, stability, and love that I had longed for for so long… In fact, before I met you I did not know what love was… You taught me the meaning of that word… You saved me Robin! You truly are my angel…” Sander said. 

A tear started to run down Robbe’s face. First because of the sadness of Sander’s struggles and then because of happiness from the sweetest love declaration. Sander giggled. “Look at us…” he said, “Both crying”. He hadn’t even finished his sentence before Robbe’s lips met his own. “I love you so much” Robbe spoke in Sander’s mouth. “I love you too Robin” Sander replied before pushing himself and Robbe around so that he was now laying on top. He quickly removed Robbe’s shirt and started to kiss his boyfriends neck and shoulders while Robbe placed his right hand on Sander’s head. He loved to feel Sander’s hear flow through his fingers. 

Suddenly a jolt of turbulence interrupted the boys. Robbe giggled from this sudden rollercoaster feeling. “You really laugh like the chicken” Sander commented. “Shut up San” Robbe faked annoyance causing both of them to laugh. Their happy moment was interrupted by a cry coming from the baby monitor. The turbulence must have woken up little Sander. Sander got up, put his shirt back on and left the bedroom. 

A few moments later he returned with their son. “No need to cry, little one” Sander said, “It’s just some wind. You’re safe with me and your papa”. He went over to Robbe and sat next to him in the bed with his son in his arms. Robbe stroked the cheek of his son while he said: “hey little one”. Being in the safety of his both dads quickly made the baby stop crying. Sander placed a delicate kiss on the forehead of his son. “We will always keep you safe” he promised his son. “Can I?” Robbe asked. Sander placed the baby in Robbe’s arms who stood up and started to pace around while singing a sleeping song.

“Sleep baby sleep  
What are you waiting for?  
The morning's on its way  
You know it's only just a dream”

A few moments later baby Sander was back sleeping peacefully. Robbe returned the baby to its crib before getting back to Sander. “Where were we?” he asked with a look of burning desire as he got back into their bedroom. Seeing his boy act so sexy made Sander smile. “Come!” he invited Robbe back in bed… This night was going to become ‘OUR night’.

**Monday February 22nd, 2021**

17:58

Robbe and Sander were on their way, hand in hand, to the dining room for dinner when suddenly Robbe stopped. “Fock, the meeting with madam Beaumont was that this evening or tomorrow?” he wondered. “We’re near Willem’s office so I’ll just jump in to check” Robbe concluded. “Ok, I will already go to the dining room” Sander said. Robbe went in and gave Sander a kiss. “It’s just three minutes…” Sander teased. “Three minutes without my raison d'être” Robbe giggled. “Poor you” Sander kept teasing. The boys walked away from each other while they kept holding hands until eventually their arms were stretched in front of themselves… Sander kept walking backwards while his hand was slowly slipping away from Robbe’s causing him to temporally loose balance when their hands finally broke apart. They had done this unconsciously but now both boys realized that they had unwittingly re-enacted their meeting at the art academy… They both giggled at that realization. 

A few moments later Robbe reached Willem III’s office and proceeded to open the door. As he was about to walk in he started: “Hey, the…”. But then he was in complete surprise by what he saw in front of him. “Mom!” Robbe said confused and surprised. “Oh sweetie” Charlotte said, “We wanted to tell you…”. She send an apologizing look at her son. “You must know… I am not trying to replace your dad” she said. “Mom… The only thing that matters is that you’re happy” Robbe replied. He knew that his mum was happy. He had seen her beam as Willem was kissing her when he walked in. Over the last months he had learned to know Willem very well, after all they spend several hours together each day, and he had learned that Willem was a wonderful, sweet, and caring person. He knew that Willem would treat his mum much better than his dad ever had. So, he was delighted with his mum’s choice. Charlotte smiled and hugged her son. 

22:21

Sander was in his studio working on a piece for his class on still lifes. In general he preferred to draw or paint portraits over still lifes so this was not his most favourite task. 

Suddenly the door opened a little and Robbe’s head popped in. “San? You’re almost done?” he asked. Sander sighed. “Not really, but I am tired of this stupid task. I hate painting vases with flowers or bowls of fruit…” he replied. In the meantime Robbe had walked into the room towards Sander and he grabbed his boyfriend by the hand to pull him out… “Robbe… If I don’t wash out my brushes than they will be ruined…” Sander pleaded. “Remember one year ago?” Robbe whispered in Sander’s ear, “Exactly one year ago today…”. How could he forget that? Yes, his mum had been very annoyed at him but it had all been worth it… Making out and having sex with his beautiful boyfriend while being all wet and covered in paint had been wonderful. But three days later when his mum opened the laundry basket and found Sander’s paint stained bed sheets she had been furious and forced him to take care of his laundry himself… 

Robbe had in the meantime already pulled off his shirt and his hands now glide under Sander’s shirt. Sander instantly had goosebumps as Robbe’s soft and warm hands glided over his toned body. Moments later Sander’s shirt flew through the air and landed somewhere on the floor. Sander grabbed a tube of paint and sprayed it all over Robbe’s bare chest. Robbe pulled Sander in and the boys started to kiss while paint from Robbe’s chest got transferred to Sander’s… 

Soon the rest of the, now paint-stained, clothing had been lost and the boys were making out nakedly on the floor. Sander was laying on top of Robbe. “We’re making a mess” Sander giggled. “Who cares?” Robbe giggled. “But this paint is very stiff…” Robbe complained. “Shall I add some thinner?” Sander teased. “Silly Willy” Robbe giggled. 

Robbe’s hands, covered in yellow paint, moved through Sander’s hair. Sander knew his hair must now look yellow. “So, you like me bleached?” he asked. Robbe giggled. “With your bleached hair you look like the God Apollo… Simply out of this world divine…” Robbe whispered in Sander’s ear. “And not with my brown hair?” Sander faked annoyance. “Yes, too…” Robbe replied. They had talked about this before and both boys agreed that Sander looked even better, if that’s even possible, with his bleached hair. But the bleaching was pretty damaging to the hair so Sander was forced to only do it occasionally. 

23:27

“It looks like a bomb has exploded” Sander said while assessing the ‘damage’ to his art studio. Robbe sent a disappointed look. Sander immediately corrected himself. “It was totally worth it” he replied with a bright smile. “Come my Da Vinci… Let’s rinse off the canvasses in the shower” Robbe said with a smirk. The two boys quickly grabbed their underwear and Robbe opened the door and put his head out to see if nobody was around. “Quick Sander, the coast is clear!” Robbe yelled.  


Moments later the two boys made it to the bathroom. Hopefully none had seen the running around half naked and covered in paint… Robbe would be so embarrassed if anyone had… Sander was less shy but he was careful as he knew his boyfriend would be embarrassed. 

Robbe wrapped his arms around Sander’s neck and the two boys started to kiss passionately. Sander walked backwards until his and Robbe’s body were under the shower head. Warm water rained down on them and started to wash away the ubiquitous paint that was covering their whole bodies. Streaks of yellow, blue, red, and green water was running down the boys legs… 

**Tuesday February 23rd, 2021**

07:30

Robbe’s phone woke the boys up. Robbe turned to Sander to give him a good morning kiss but the boys was still laying there with his eyes closed. “Morning San” Robbe said before giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. “Sander?” Robbe said worried as he got no response. “Tired, I am staying a bit longer in bed” Sander said without opening his eyes. Robbe knew his boyfriend so well that he immediately understood that something was wrong… 

Robbe laid down again and wrapped his arm around Sander to make him feel safe and loved. He placed a delicate kiss in Sander’s neck. Sander didn’t say anything for several minutes but then he broke the silence: “You should go… You have work to do…”. “Work can wait” Robbe said, “I stay with you”. Sander looked too tired to argue and simply tried to sleep again. Robbe picked up his phone and send a message to Willem III. 

Robbe: [Cancel all my appointments for today and ask Isabelle if she can care for the baby]

13:07

Sander woke up and he immediately realized that Robbe was still there holding on to him. How late was it??? The boy must have laid there awake doing nothing for hours? “What are you still doing here?” Sander asked with a heavy voice. “Tssssst” Robbe urged Sander to not ask such questions. Sander sat up right in bed. “How are you, Sander?” Robbe asked. The boy didn’t answer but instead he started crying. Robbe wrapped his arms around Sander and said: “Baby, please talk to me”. Sander again didn’t answer, instead he put his hands over his ears and started to wobble. Robbe had never seen Sander behave like this before… 

Robbe clamped Sander’s head in between his hands and said: “Sander, please look at me”. The boy lifted his teary eyes up and looked at Robbe with a tortured look. “Please, tell me what is going on in your head?” Robbe begged. Sander didn’t answer but he simply moved his hands, palms up in front of him and stared at his hands. The look of his hands seemed to make him feel only worse. Normally Robbe reads Sander’s body language as an open book but today the boy was completely puzzled. Robbe looked at Sander’s hands and couldn’t see anything wrong. It’s clearly not some physical pain in his hands because otherwise Sander would talk. Something was going on in his head and Robbe couldn’t make any sense of it… 

Sander threw himself on the bed and curled up in a foetal position while he kept crying. Robbe spooned him and wrapped his arm around his boyfriend. “I am here Sander. You can tell me when you feel ready. I will always be here for you” Robbe comforted his boyfriend. 

About fifteen minutes later Sander had cried himself asleep without saying a word... 

21:02

Sander finally woke up a third time today. He couldn’t believe that Robbe was still holding on to him. His boy must have stayed the whole day in bed. “Have you even eaten anything today?” Sander asked surprising Robbe we hadn’t yet noticed that his boyfriend had woken up. Robbe was confused. The first things from Sander’s mouth were to ask his boyfriend if he had eaten… “A bit of fasting is healthy” Robbe replied. “Robin! You don’t have to suffer like that for me” Sander said annoyed. 

“What is going on in that beautiful head of yours?” Robbe asked. “I have again ruined your day… I don’t deserve you… You deserve someone who is mentally healthy… Who is always there for you… I am just a burden…” Sander replied. While Robbe understood why Sander was saying this the words still hit him like a thousand knives piercing his body.

Robbe put his hand on Sander’s cheek and said: “Sander… Look at me”. The boy slowly lifted his tear flooded face to look at his boyfriend. A boyfriend he didn’t deserve, he knew that. “You know what they say during American weddings?” Robbe asked. “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part…” Robbe said, “That’s my commitment to you”. “And you know… All Robbe’s in all universes are saying the same thing to their Sanders” Robbe added. Normally such a thought would make Sander overjoyed but now it pained him. He thought of all the poor Robbe’s who had to deal with the mental instability of their boyfriends. 

Sander stood up and ran away. “Sander!” Robbe yelled. He got up and ran after his boyfriend but soon he had lost track of Sander. “Fock!” Robbe yelled angry at himself. He had one task and that was to keep Sander safe and he failed. Again… Robbe ran through the Elysée as a madman looking for Sander. Opening every door and sticking his head inside yelling “Sander!”. He didn’t care that people were staring at him… The only thing that mattered was to find his boyfriend. Soon Robbe realized that he would not be able to search for Sander by himself so he ran to the guard post…

“Sander is missing!” he managed to say, completely out of breath from running a marathon though the hallways of the Elysée. He inhaled a few times to catch his breath before continuing. “He’s having an episode… We need to find him! Call everyone to help searching…” Robbe said while tears ran non-stop down his face. 

Soon a big search action was underway in which everyone participated. Robbe’s mother, Sander’s parents, Sven, Willem III, his aunt Elisabeth, Lucas, and all the guards… While most guards were running around to look for Sander a small group stayed in the control room looking for Sander on the CCTV footage. 

23:49

Sander was now missing for over three hours and Robbe was in a complete panic attack. He kept running around in circles unable to stay still for even a second. “Fock what if he has…” Robbe said in panic. “Hey hey hey, don’t go there” Sven said, “We’ll find him”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter we will finally discover what has happened during Sander's youth that triggered his bipolarity.


	39. The demons roar again…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: this chapter deals with Sander’s bipolarity, the death of his sister, a car accident, and mentions of suicide. 
> 
> Sorry, it has taken more than a month for this new chapter because December was such a busy month for me that I had no time left to write.

**Wednesday February 24th, 2021**

00:34

A guard came storming into the room: “Lucas found Sander!” “Where? Is he safe!” Robbe shouted. “He’s alive…” the guard said. That didn’t sound well. “Where is he?” Robbe yelled. “In the Salon d'argent” the guard answered. Robbe didn’t lose a second and ran to the Salon d'argent as fast as he could. 

00:39

Robbe arrived completely exhausted. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Sander laying on the floor with a blanket over him. Sander didn’t move or speak. Robbe ran to his boyfriend who was completely soaked and as he toughed Sander he felt how icy cold his boyfriend’s skin was. “We found him in the gardens of the Champs-Élysées. He was laying behind a bush in the snow…” Lucas said. Sander had only been wearing a t-shirt. 

The Elysée’s physician had also arrived. “What should we do?” Robbe asked. “We need to warm him up” the physician said, “Remove his soaked clothing and wrap him in warm blankets”. Lucas immediately went off to search for more blankets while Robbe started to undress his boyfriend. He pulled off his own t-shirt and used it to dry Sander as good as he could before embracing Sander. Immediately a shiver went through Robbe’s body as Sander’s cold skin touched his own. Robbe hoped that Sander could hear him as he endlessly repeated: “I am so happy that I found you”. 

Lucas returned with blankets. “Robbe, I need to wrap Sander up” he said. “No” the physician said, “Let the King give Sander body heat”. Lucas was going to start wrapping them up in blankets when he was stopped by the physician: “let me do this. Your Majesty you must keep Sander as still as possible. During hypothermia the heart is sensitive to arrythmias that can be caused by sudden movements of the body”. The physician carefully wrapped the boys in the blankets. He also placed some hot packs inside. 

01:04

Robbe was walking around like crazy waiting for news from the doctors. “Robbe calm down…” Sven said, “It will be fine. Remember, the ambulance staff said he had a normal heart rhythm”. But Robbe couldn’t stop worrying. Sander had felt icy cold, like a corpse… The idea that he could lose Sander was so horrible that it consumed all of his mental energy to try to prevent his mind from going into that direction… Sander was like oxygen, essential for his life. 

Robbe’s breathing became ever more rapid and irregular. His heart was beating as if it was trying to escape from his chest and despite his rapid breathing he ever felt more asfixiated. It felt as if an elephant was standing on his chest making it impossible to breath. He started to tremble and feel dizzy… He looked drunk as he started to become unsteady on his feet… Almost falling on the floor… But Sven catched him before he fell and helped Robbe to sit down on a chair. While his mum ran off looking for a nurse or physician…

His mum returned with a nurse who quickly judged that Robbe was having a panic attack. He gave Robbe a paper bag to breath into to help with his hyperventilation. Robbe put the bag to his mouth and started to breath in and out. “Try to slow down your breathing” the nurse instructed Robbe. Robbe obeyed and fought the urge of his body to breath. In the meantime, the nurse took his cell phone and called a physician. 

Minutes later a physician arrived. “You’re having a panic attack. If it’s OK I would like to give you a mild sedative” the physician said. Robbe nodded. “But I want to remain awake for when there’s news about Sander” he whispered. “Don’t worry, I am going to give you a low dose of diazepam so you will not fall asleep” the physician reassured Robbe. He opened up Robbe’s shirt and gave the injection in his right arm. Within minutes Robbe started to feel the effect of the drug… He started to feel slightly sleepy but not to the extent that he would fall asleep but it did indeed help to reduce his anxiety… 

01:23

The door opened and Sander’s physicians came in. “He’s stable” the physician-in-charge said to Robbe’s great relief. “I must see him! Now!” Robbe demanded. “He’s resting…” the physician said. “I won’t wake him up! I promise!” Robbe said. “Ok, follow me” the physician answered. 

Robbe was shocked when he walked into the hospital room and he saw Sander attached to various catheters and machines. Blood flowed from his body through a tube in a machine and back into his body. The physician noticed Robbe’s questioning look: “We’re rewarming his blood and pumping it back”. “In addition we’re giving him warm humidified air to breath and we’re flooding his chest and abdominal cavity with warmed saline” the physician explained. Tears ran down Robbe’s face as he walked over to his boyfriend. Robbe bent over and placed a delicate kiss on Sander’s forehead. He sat down in the chair next to Sander’s bed. “I’ll leave you…” the physician whispered, “Try to get some sleep yourself, Majesty”. 

03:49

Robbe was still sitting next to Sander’s hospital bed holding onto Sander’s hand fearing what may happen if he loses his grip for even a second. His eyes were red from crying, he felt tired, exhausted but he could not sleep… He guarded Sander like a guard dog, not even once letting his eyes move away from his boy. 

“The King should go home and get some rest… I assure you that Sander is in good hands” the physician told Sven. “I don’t think that the entire French army would succeed at pulling him from that room…” Sven dramatically replied. The physician threw a look of agreement before leaving. Sven walked over and put his hand on Robbe’s shoulder: “I am going to go home and get some sleep. You should try to rest a bit too. Should I ask if they can bring in an extra bed for you to sleep?”. Robbe nodded. He wasn’t going to leave Sander’s room so having a bed to sleep in would be useful. This sofa would break him if he had to sleep multiple days in it… “Goodnight Robbe. Goodnight Sander” Sven said before walking out. “Goodnight Sven” Robbe replied. 

08:29

Robbe still hadn’t slept. He had stayed seated in a chair next to Sander’s bed the whole night holding on to Sander’s hand. He felt exhausted… It was a constant struggle to keep his eyes open but at the same time his worries about Sander’s health prevented him from sleeping. He could close his eyelids but the stress would prevent him from sleeping… He stood up and walked over to the window. He opened the curtains hoping that the morning sunlight might help his boy wake up. As he opened the curtains he got hit in the eyes with the reflection of the sun. He squeezed his eyelids together to keep the bright light from his eyes. Soon through his partially closed eyes he was able to make out the source of the reflection… Camera lenses… Hundreds of them… All assembled on the rooftop of the building across from the clinic and all pointed towards the window of Sander’s room. Robbe froze. He was in shock. After all he had gone through last night he had hoped that the media would give him some space. That they wouldn’t descend up him and Sander as vultures looking for gossip. Before Robbe had even realized what was happening a drone with a camera hovered in front of the window trying to film inside. A guard had noticed what was happening and quickly closed the curtains. 

Robbe fell with his back against the wall on the floor and started to cry. In his head he could already see the newspapers and magazines abusing pictures of Sander in his hospital bed to boost their sales… 

“Robbe…” Robbe heard a familiar voice saying. He looked up and saw his mum standing in front of him. “I am so sorry sweetie” she said as she squatted down. She wrapped her arm around Robbe and pulled him closer so his head would rest on her shoulder. Robbe sobbed against his mum shoulder for several more minutes before she pulled away and looked him in the eye. “Have you already slept anything?” she asked. Robbe shook his head. “Sweetie… You must also care for yourself… Please, get some sleep...” she said. Robbe looked over to Sander. His mum noticed so she added: “I will stay here next to Sander watching over him for as long as you sleep. I promise”. Robbe didn’t say or move so she added: “Oké?”. He looked at his mother and simply replied: “Oké”.  


Nurses had earlier brought a separate visitor’s bed into Sander’s room at Sven’s request so that Robbe could sleep there. So, Robbe got up and went to lay down on the visitor’s bed while his mum sat down in the chair next to Sander’s bed. Robbe looked over to Sander and his mum who whispered back: “I am here and I am not leaving. Sleep tight”. It didn’t take long for Robbe to finally drift asleep knowing that his mum was guarding Sander. 

13:03

Robbe woke up. He still felt tired but the 4.5 hours of sleep had at least taken the edge off his exhaustion. He got out off bed and walked over to Sander. “Sander…” Robbe whispered as he caressed the boy’s cheek with his thumb but there was no reaction. “The doctor has checked him an hour or so ago…” Robbe heard his mother say. He looked over to her, still sitting in the chair as she had promised. “He said they are going to keep Sander in an artificial coma for another day or two to give his body time to recover…” she explained. “Will… Will he…” Robbe stuttered, “Will he have lasting damage?”. “Oh sweetie…” his mother said compassionately, “Until he wakes up there’s no way of telling for sure… But the physicians think the chance is good that he makes a full recovery…”. 

Robbe bended over and kissed Sander’s forehead. “I love you… So much… Sander. I hope you can hear me… I am here for you… I will always be there for you… Always…” Robbe whispered while he kept caressing Sander’s cheek with his thumb, very carefully and delicately, as if he was holding the most fragile and priceless treasure in the whole world in his hand. And he was… Sander was his treasure… He gave Sander another kiss before moving over to the chair. “It’s fine mom…” Robbe said, “I can take over…”. She threw Robbe a look of disagreement but decided not to argue. “Ok” she replied, “But I will get back this evening so that you can get some more sleep…”. 

Robbe felt so guilty by what he had asked of his mum so he said: “Sorry, you shouldn’t sacrifice your sleep to watch over Sander…”. “Oh sweetie…” she said while grabbing Robbe in an embrace. “In the past I’ve not always been there for you… I was often too entangled in arguments with your dad… So, let me make it up to you by being here now for you and Sander…” she said. “No mum, you don’t have to apologize. It was my dad who made things difficult…” Robbe said. “I am not blameless…” Charlotte apologized. “Everyone makes mistakes… But you always tried… My dad always avoided responsibility and disappeared whenever you have had an argument…” Robbe comforted his mum. 

**Thursday February 25th, 2021**

08:17

Jens arrived at Sander’s hospital room. He should normally be in school but the principal had granted him a leave of absence to allow him to be there for his best friend during these difficult times. As he was about to walk in, he saw Sven sitting with a coffee on a bench outside of the hospital room. Jens walked over…

“Hi Sven” Jens said. “Hello Jens. Thank you for coming” Sven replied. “How is Sander?” Jens asked with a trembling voice. “He’s still unconscious but his life is no longer in danger…” Sven replied. “That’s good” Jens sighed. He started to turn around to head over to the door of Sander’s room as he stopped in his tracks and looked back at Sven. “Uh…” he started before pausing, “Journalists have been sending me messages offering me money for information… I haven’t told them anything but I thought you should know…”. Sven stood up and placed his hand on Jens’ shoulder. “Thank you” he spoke with a soft smile. 

Jens walked into the hospital room and immediately walked over to Robbe who got up from his chair. “How is he?” Jens asked. “He got hypothermic and is in some kind of coma…” Robbe sobbed. Jens wrapped his arms around Robbe and whispered into his ear: “It will be fine. Sander will be fine”. “I hope so” Robbe sobbed. “Everyone is thinking of you and Sander. They… Moyo, Aaron, Senne, Zoë, Milan, Noor, Yasmina, Luca, and Amber, all asked me to tell you that they were thinking of the both of you and wish for a speedy recovery…” Jens said. “Thank you” Robbe said with a slight smile, “Make sure to give them all my thanks”. “I will” Jens replied. 

“Oh, before I forget…” Jens said as he handed Robbe a basket full of fruit, “It’s a gift from all of us”. “Oh, thank you” Robbe put out another small smile. “I would have bought a basket of chips, chocolate, and cookies…” Jens added, “But Zoë insisted on healthy stuff”. “I think Sander would have preferred the chips as well…” Robbe said, his smile getting bigger. “Indeed, I remember when you both went shopping at the sea and returned with nothing from Amber’s shopping list…” Jens joked. “We got the tomatoes…” Robbe joked back. “Well Amber didn’t agree that ketchup counted as tomatoes…” Jens laughed. “Poor Aaron” Robbe giggled. Jens smiled, his mission to lighten Robbe’s mood seemed to be successful. 

“I also got something for you…” Jens said as he handed over a plastic bag to Robbe, “I am sorry that I didn’t have time to wrap it but I bought it in a bookstore here in Paris…”. Robbe opened the bag and found a copy of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ inside. “Jens…” Robbe giggled. “Now you have no excuse not to read it…” Jens said. Two years ago Robbe had to read this book for his English class but because of the situation with his parents he had not been in the mood of reading and Jens, who had read the book before, helped Robbe to write the literary analysis. Luckily the teacher had never questioned Robbe about the book… “Thank you… I’ll promise I’ll read it now” Robbe said. “You better do, Mr. IJzermans” Jens said imitating the voice and gestures of their former English teacher. Robbe shook his head… 

Jens took a chair and sat down. The room fell into a silence that lasted several minutes until Robbe broke it. “Jens it’s fine…” he said. “What?” Jens said confused. “I know you want to go to Lucas… You don’t have to stay here out of courtesy… Go to your boyfriend. He has missed you…” Robbe said. “Okay, I will be back…” Jens promised as he headed out. 

11:03

Robbe hadn’t left Sander’s hospital room. He had been there sitting in that chair guarding his boyfriend since Wednesday night. He had not had a proper night of sleep since Sander’s breakdown started, only the occasional short nap… The exhaustion was starting to affect him… He had heavy dark circles around his eyes, found it hard to concentrate on anything and he experienced microsleeps, short moments where he blacked out… 

Isabelle walked in. “Good morning Robbe” she said. “Hi Isa” Robbe replied. She took a chair and sat down next to Robbe. “Robbe…” she said, “It’s important to get some sleep so that you don’t crash”. “I know but I can’t…” Robbe replied, “It’s my fault that he’s here… If I had run faster…”. “Nooo, this is not your fault sweetie” Isabelle said. “It has happened to us too…” she added a few moments later, “Whenever he gets into a depressive episode he tends to run away and hide”. “You know… His illness started after the death of his sister. He loved her so much… The two of them were inseparable… They were always playing together… Quite rare for a brother and a sister… Her death broke him… He didn’t speak a word to anyone for over a month… The day before the funeral he disappeared… It took us and the police five days to find him back…” she explained. 

A tear ran down Robbe’s face. To know that the car accident that killed his sister is indirectly also responsible for his bipolar disease made things feel extra tragic. “Until two months ago I didn’t even know he had had a sister…” Robbe said. Isabelle understood that Robbe felt that Sander was hiding things from him. “He never speaks about her with us either” she said. “Never?” Robbe asked. “No, it’s a psychological defence mechanism… He tries to eliminate any thought about her because it’s too painful” she explained. 

“He was such a happy kid before…” Isabelle said before briefly pausing, “Always joking, laughing, and making art in bright colours… His black & white aesthetic developed after… For years he banned the use of any colour but then gradually he started to use more of it…”. “Especially after meeting you” she added while looking at Robbe. “The mural” Robbe said. “Yes, that was unlike any of the art that he made in the years before…” Isabelle replied. “The painting… It’s you, isn’t it?” Isabelle suddenly asked. “Huh?” a confused Robbe blurted out. “The angel above the swimming pool that hangs in our living room…” Isabelle clarified. Robbe started to blush. “Uh, yes it is” he simply said hoping that Isabelle would not ask for the meaning behind it. He had no intention of telling her about their skinny dipping adventure… To Robbe’s relief she didn’t ask for more information. 

Robbe swallowed. He had a question and while he wanted to know the answer he knew how painful it would be for Isabelle to answer it. “What is it?” Isabelle asked looking at Robbe. “Huh… I am sorry to ask… But what exactly happened to Lisa?” he asked. A tear ran down Isabelle’s face. “Sorry” Robbe said. “No, it’s fine. You have a right to know…” she said, “She got hit by a drunk driver who was speeding as she walked home from school… Sander was with her… He saw it happen… He had been walking hand in hand with her until a friend yelled at him and he turned around… His sister kept walking… Crossing the street… Sander was hysterical… He was covered in his sister’s blood as he had tried to help her… He had used his t-shirt to try to make the bleeding stop…”. 

Isabelle was crying heavily as she relived those horrible memories. Arriving at the hospital to be told by the doctor that “there was nothing we could do…”. Seeing her son sit against the hospital wall crying hysterically in blood soaked clothing. Nurses had tried to clean the blood off Sander and give him new clothing but the boy was too hysterical. He pushed anyone away who came close to him and ran away. Eventually it would take 15 hours before an exhausted Sander finally fell asleep in the hospital hallway and his parents could carry him home… 

Robbe was crying. He never realized the horrors Sander went through. He wished he could take over the pain and finally give Sander relief after all these years… Isabelle took Robbe’s hand to offer him comfort. “Sander has never been as stable as since he has been with you… You have a good influence on him. He has not had a single bad episode in over a year… Believe me, it was way worse before he met you…” Isabelle said. “But…” Isabelle said before swallowing hard, “On Tuesday when Sander had his breakdown it was exactly 10 year since…”. She stopped before wiping away her tears. “I am so sorry…” Robbe said before giving Isabelle a hug. 

“We visited her grave…” Robbe said. Isabelle looked shocked by this revelation. Robbe send her a questioning look and she explained: “We’ve tried multiple times to take him there… Once even with his therapist… But he always ran away before we reached her grave… So, it’s a very big step for him to finally go there… He wouldn’t have been able to do that without you… I am sure of that…”. “Oh…” was the only thing that Robbe could reply. 

15:48

Robbe was reading ‘Pride and Prejudice’ while holding on to Sander’s hand when suddenly the door opened and his father walked in together with an unknown lady and a teenage boy. “Dad???” Robbe said confused. “Hi son. I am sorry to surprise you like this… Well, I guess there will never be a good moment to tell…” Louis said. “To tell what???” Robbe demanded. “Meet Laura Timmermans and her son Liam… Your half-brother” Louis replied. “My what????” Robbe said in disbelief. “Your half-brother” Louis replied in a whispering tone. He clearly noticed that the news didn’t go down well with his son. Robbe was perplexed. He had to talk to his dad but he couldn’t do that in front of these strangers. Normally, for courtesy reasons he would ask his dad to leave the room with him to have a talk but he absolutely didn’t want to leave Sander’s side. Not even for a few minutes… Robbe wanted to be there next to him in case he woke up. He knew that Sander would be confused when he woke up in a strange room hooked up to machines and tubes. He knew that his presence would instantly calm Sander down… “Can I talk to my dad in private for a moment?” Robbe finally asked. “Sure, I understand you have a lot of questions. We’re just going to the cafeteria to get some coffee” the lady said before walking out with her son.

“What the hell dad??? You cheated on mum???” Robbe blasted as soon as the two guests had left. “Let me explain… You know that things at home were not always going so well… During one of our difficult periods my law firm was hired by AAV Pharma, a company working on adeno-associated viruses as vectors for gene therapy. Laura is the CEO of that company. We met over business but our relationship quickly moved from professional to…” Louis explained. “Yeah, you met a beautiful woman with money and a good position… Just like Marie…” Robbe yelled. “It’s not like that son” Louis said, “You know how hard it is to live with your mum. She’s not always the most mentally stable… You of all people should understand that… Look at the situation you’re in right now…”. Robbe’s face had gotten red and he swallowed at hearing that last statement. “Get out dad!” Robbe yelled in rage. 

16:12

Liam walked back into the hospital room alone. Robbe sat in his chair crying. “I am sorry” Liam said, “I told Louis that this was not the right moment… The last days have been an emotional rollercoaster for me too… I didn’t know who my dad was until he showed up at our home three days ago…”. “I don’t know who my dad is either” Robbe said with a defeated look. “I am sorry” Liam repeated again. Robbe looked up to the boy and said: “It’s not your fault. You don’t have to apologize”. The boy gave Robbe a restrained smile. “I heard your fiancée loves David Bowie so I brought a little present” Liam said while handing Robbe a box wrapped in paper that had what looked like the NASA logo on it but with the word NASA replaced by BOWIE in fat white letters while also displaying the red lightning bolt. Robbe smiled, thinking of how much Sander would love the wrapping paper. “Thank you” Robbe said. “Ok, I think you need some time alone… So, I am leaving now. It was nice to meet you” Liam said. “Sorry for my behaviour” Robbe replied, “It was nice to meet you too”. “No need to apologize” Liam said before walking out. 

22:09

A clicking sound woke Robbe up. Ever since Sander had been admitted to hospital Robbe had only had the occasional hour of sleep. Hence, he felt exhausted and it took him great difficulty to finally lift his eyelids and look around the room. A nurse stood bent over at the opposite side of Sander’s bed. “What’s the noise?” Robbe questioned. “Oh, your majesty. Did I wake you up. I am sorry… These new digital thermometers make a horrible clicking noise… But you will be delighted to hear that Sander is doing much better already” the nurse said. Robbe found the explanation of a thermometer making noise strange to say the least but he was relieved by the good news and too tired to think properly. “Thank you” Robbe said before closing his eyes and drifting back asleep. 

**Friday February 26th, 2021**

07:03

Lucas walked into the hospital room. His face was white with an expression of horror. He handed some magazines and newspapers to Sven. Robbe walked over and Sven tried to hide the newspapers and magazines. “Let me see” Robbe demanded. “Ignore them…” Sven tried. “No, let me see” Robbe demanded and he pulled them from Sven’s hands. 

“Royal love problems” the first newspaper headed. Then Robbe looked at the next magazine and what he saw instantly made him sick in the stomach. The magazines and newspapers dropped from his hands and he stood there. Unmoving… Like a statue… Frozen… His face expressionless… While he had seen the magazine cover it had been so surreal that it didn’t even register in his brain…

“Did love sickness drive Sander to attempt suicide?” the magazine headed.

Moments later the truth of what he had read started to sink into Robbe’s brain and he started to sob uncontrollably. He knew that this was a lie… His relationship with Sander was still as powerful and bindblowing as it had ever been. “They are parasites… Nobody is going to believe their lies…” Sven tried to comfort Robbe. “I know…” Robbe whispered, “But it still hurts so much… And what if Sander ever sees this article? I know how much it would pain him that people write such things about our relationship…”. Sven wrapped his arms around Robbe and let the boy cry on his shoulder.

13:11

Isabelle came into her son’s hospital room. She looked quite upset. “What’s wrong?” Robbe asked as he noticed the tear running from her right eye. “Why do these parasites do this? Don’t they have any decency?” she exclaimed. Robbe shed a tear too when he thought back to the magazines and newspapers from this morning. “I don’t think that anyone believes their lies…” Robbe said. He had spent hours thinking about it and he knew that their grandiose love expressions must surely mean that nobody would believe the journalists’ lies. “Yes that too…” Isabelle said. “What else?” Robbe nervously asked. “This” she said angrily, showing Robbe her phone. Robbe saw the online edition of a newspaper. On the front page were several pictures of comatose Sander in his hospital bed… 

21:21

Sander finally woke up. A smile appeared on his face as he saw the familiar face that was sitting next to his bed. “Where am I???” Sander asked confused and still intoxicated from the painkillers and other medication. Robbe jumped up and bended over his boyfriend. He gently stroked Sander’s cheek and explained: “Hey cutie, you’re in hospital. We found you hypothermic in the snow…”. “Sorry…” Sander mumbled. “It’s OK, you’re safe now” Robbe replied. Robbe placed a gentle kiss on Sander’s forehead.  
“I am going to call a nurse? Is that ok?” Robbe asked. Sander nodded and Robbe pressed the button. A few minutes later a nurse walked in… “You’re awake” she said with a smile. “Let me get the physician…” she added as she left the room. 

“I am so sorry…” Sander sobbed. “Tsssst, it’s fine…” Robbe comforted Sander while stroking with his fingers through Sander’s soft hair. “No, I’ve hurt you…” Sander objected. “You’re Ok and that’s all that matters…” Robbe said before kissing Sander. He had learned from Sander’s breakdown at the art academy that the only way to make Sander feel that his love for him has remained unchanged was for him to kiss Sander. So, he put all his feelings for Sander in the most tender but at the same time also passionate and craving kiss… 

When they finally broke the kiss a tear ran down Sander’s face. He couldn’t believe that his angel was still there for him… Robbe wiped the tear away with his thumb and looked at his boy with so much love… As he was going in for a second kiss the door opened and the physician walked in… 

22:12

It took Sander nearly an hour to make sense of his memories. To have the effect of the sedation and painkillers wear off so that he regained mental clarity… The physician had in the meantime examined Sander and delivered wonderful news to the boys. Sander had no permanent neurological damage from the hypothermia so he would make a full recovery. In fact, he would probably be dismissed from the hospital in a few days…

As soon as he had started to make sense of things he erupted in tears. “Tssssst” Robbe tried to comfort Sander while holding on to his hand. But Sander did not calm down… Instead, his face got red and Robbe could see the fury in his boyfriends eyes as he started to yell. Robbe had never seen Sander like this… “2.7 per mille!!! 2.7 focking per mille!!! That was his alcohol level! He was speeding at 81 kilometres per hour in a built-up area near a school! And you know what that focking sick bastard of a judge gave him???” Sander screamed, “A six month SUSPENDED prison sentence!!!! He never spent a day in jail!!!”. 

A tear ran down Robbe’s face and seeing this brought Sander back from his rage. He wiped away the tear with his thumb. “I am so so sorry baby. I hurt you again…” Sander said. Robbe climbed into the hospital bed and put his arm around Sander. Sander was laying on his back while Robbe was laying on his side facing Sander. “There’s no need to apologize… It’s perfectly normal to feel like this…” Robbe whispered. “A part of me died that day, Robbe” Sander sobbed. Robbe didn’t know what to say. What could he say? Nothing could soften the horrible reality of how Sander lost his beloved sister… All he could do was to make Sander feel that he was there. So Robbe thightened his grip on his boy. He buried his face into Sander’s shoulder who instantly tilted his head to maximize contact with Robbe’s head. The boys stayed like this… Holding on to each other in silence… For about an hour… 

23:31

After all the emotions of Sander waking up and explaining what had happened had died down and Robbe had finally comforted Sander enough he asked: “Sorry for not asking yet but how is our son?”. “He’s fine” Robbe replied, “Our mums have cared for him”. “I miss him…” Sander said. “I could ask your mum to bring him tomorrow?” Robbe asked. “Tomorrow…” Sander said with a disappointed face. “Sander…” Robbe replied, “You and him should get some rest now… It’s almost midnight…”. “But I’ve slept several days…” Sander said. “You were in coma!” Robbe replied slightly annoyed by Sander’s lack of reason. Sander watched Robbe’s face for a few seconds before whispering: “Sorry… You’re right. We both need some rest first…”. “Glad you understand” Robbe said. 

**Saturday February 27th, 2021**

07:31

Robbe woke up. As he lifted his head he saw that Sander was already awake and was looking at him. “What are you doing?” Robbe asked. “Admiring the most beautiful sight ever” Sander replied. “Which is?” Robbe teased. “Seeing you sleep” Sander said with a giant smile. “Oh, so you prefer me sleeping…” Robbe faked annoyance. Sander laughed. “Come” he instructed while pouting his lips for a kiss. Robbe got out of bed and walked over to Sander’s bed before bending over to kiss Sander. How much he had missed the feeling of Sander’s soft lips… Sander wrapped his arms around Robbe’s neck. They kissed for another minute before Robbe pulled away. “Oh, what is it?” Sander asked. “This is uncomfortable” Robbe said while gesturing to his bent over position. “Then get in bed with me” Sander instructed. “Sander… We’re in hospital” Robbe said. “So, I cannot kiss my boyfriend?” Sander said while looking at Robbe with his puppy eyes. Robbe smiled before getting in bed with Sander. He never could resist that look from Sander… They both laid on their sides facing each other. Sander gave Robbe a quick peck on his lips. Robbe moved forward towards Sander’s lips and started to kiss him passionately while placing his right hand on the back of Sander’s head. Sander’s soft hair flowed through Robbe’s fingers which felt like electricity. Robbe loved the feeling of Sander’s hair. 

After making out for about ten minutes Robbe got out of bed and fetched the fruit basket. “Look what Jens brought…” he said, “It’s a gift from all our friends”. Robbe handed the basket to Sander who inspected the content. “We need melted chocolate and whipped cream…” Sander concluded. Robbe knew exactly what Sander was thinking. “Save the strawberries for later…” Robbe said. “Why?” Sander said disappointed. “Sander…” Robbe said in disbelief, “We’re in a hospital”. “Doesn’t the door have a lock?” Sander teased while looking at Robbe with gaze of desire. “Sander…” Robbe said, his face starting to blush. “Okay Okay!” Sander replied, “But get me discharged from the hospital as soon as possible…”. “As soon as the physician thinks it’s a good idea to let you go…” Robbe said, “You’ve just woken from a coma and need time to recover”. “Yeah yeah” an impatient Sander replied slightly irritated.

“There also this present” Robbe said as he handed Liam’s present to Sander. “Yours?” Sander asked. “Uh no, sorry…” Robbe mumbled, “I’ve not left the hospital room…”. “Robbe…” Sander said. “You’ve slept the whole time in that hospital bed?” he questioned. Robbe nodded. “You must feel broken…” Sander stated in disbelief. “I am not leaving you, Sander. Never, in not a single universe” Robbe replied. “BTW, the present is from my half-brother Liam…” Robbe added. “Your half-brother?!” Sander exclaimed in disbelief. “Yeah… Long story short… My dad showed up with a woman and a boy while you were in coma and explained that this was my half-brother… Insane…” Robbe explained. 

Sander carefully started to remove the cellophane tape that held the wrapping paper closed. Robbe observed Sander’s behaviour. “Sander…” Robbe said, “You’re not seriously thinking of saving the wrapping paper…”. “But it’s the best wrapping paper ever…” Sander beamed. “I am sure we can buy a roll… Somewhere…” Robbe stated. Sander’s face turned to excitement. “They should make wrapping paper with your face on it, Robin” Sander stated. “Like wrapping paper with my mural of you on it…” he spoke fast and excited. Robbe smiled. These exaggerated expressions of love had at first scared Robbe. He didn’t believe that he was worth being painted on a wall… But Sander had slowly but certainly started to increase Robbe’s self-esteem. 

Robbe’s modesty and introverted personality stood in sharp contrast to the role that destiny had allotted to him. He had never quite forgiven his father for dumping this responsibility and social role onto him. It had been Sander’s support that had kept Robbe from collapsing. But on many occasions the weight of this role still drove him to hide in a dark corner of the palace and cry. As if he had some kind of telepathic connection… Or maybe it simply was because Sander knew Robbe so well… He always seemed to know exactly when Robbe needed him and where Robbe was… As it generally didn’t take more than a quarter-hour for Sander to find where Robbe was hiding… 

In the meantime the wrapping paper had been completely opened up and revealed a cardboard box. Sander opened the box and inside he found an Aladdin Sane coffee mug. Robbe saw the twinkle in Sander’s eyes. “Five stars on Booking” Sander concluded. Robbe giggled. “Come” Sander instructed while pouting his lips. Hearing the adorable giggle of Robbe always made Sander fall all over in love with that boy again… Robbe’s lips met Sander’s… 

08:04

The door of his hospital room opened and Isabelle walked in. “Look who I brought with me” she said. “Our little bundle of joy!” Sander exclaimed as he saw his son. She took the little one out from the Maxi-Cosi and placed him in his father’s arms. “Hehe” the baby laughed as soon as he was in Sander’s caring embrace. “I’ve missed you so much” Sander told his son. Robbe had the broadest smile as he watched his two Sander’s being all cute together. Sander loosened his embrace and turned his son to Robbe. “Look your papa is here too” Sander said. “Hehe” the baby again laughed as he saw Robbe. “Come here my little ray of sunshine” Robbe said while sticking out his arms. Sander transferred the baby into Robbe’s arms who placed a kiss on the top of baby Sander’s head. 

The baby grabbed Robbe’s curls in his hand. “Just his dad…” Robbe giggled. “The most beautiful curls in the whole world…” Sander replied, drunk in love at the sight of his two boys. The baby kept playing with Robbe’s hair and Robbe couldn’t stop giggling. Sander had never seen anything cuter than the scene he was watching now so he quickly got his phone out and started to film… He already imagined how they would watch this back in like 16 years and how their son would start to giggle like his father upon seeing so much cuteness… 

**Monday March 1st, 2021**

15:42

Sander had been dismissed from the hospital earlier today. The first thing he and Robbe had done was to play several hours with their son. When little Sander grew tired the boys put him to bed. Finally, they had time alone to just cuddle and enjoy each other. Sander grabbed Robbe with his arms underneath his back and lifted him up while Robbe threw his arms around Sander’s neck. “Where are we going?” Robbe inquired. “You’ll see…” Sander teased. Robbe giggled. He loved it when Sander teased him like this.  


Sander brought Robbe into the living room and put the boy down in the sofa before turning the television on. Robbe wrapped himself around Sander from the back and tried to pull the boy down into the sofa. “Come on… Sander… We can watch television later…” Robbe whined. “Believe me… You will want to see this… It’s five stars on Booking” Sander used his cheesy humour again. “Hmmmm” Robbe hummed, “What can be better than cuddling you?”. Sander smiled. “This” he proclaimed proudly. 

Robbe looked over to the television and he saw himself giggling as their son was playing with his hair in the hospital. That was followed by the toy chicken that giggled and then again Robbe giggling… A picture of the chicken rocking back and forward, indicating it was giggling, was edited into the movie next to Robbe’s face who was giggling. You could hear Sander remark in the background “it has the same laugh as you”. This was followed by a fragment from the Broerrrs vlog in which Robbe was singing “Rebel rebel”. He looked straight into Sander’s eyes as he sang: “Hot tramp, I love you so!”. Sander had edited the movie in such a way that a golden orb appeared on Robbe’s forehead and that his hair was red, just like Ziggy Stardust. Next, a short clip started of Sander trying to keep his balance on a skateboard while Robbe is giving instructions… Sander snorted as he nearly fell of his board when it hit the edge of the pavement, too distracted by looking at his teacher instead of paying attention to where he was going… Robbe giggled. Seeing Sander fumbling on the board and then that adorable snort was too much for Robbe… “Are you making fun of me?” Sander teased. Robbe looked at Sander and said “Never” with a giant smile before he went in for a kiss.  


“Does the master approve of his apprentice first movie?” Sander asked. “You have talent… But of course you got trained by the best…” Robbe joked. “I wouldn’t call the broerrrs vlogs the hight of cinematographic artistry…” Sander teased. “You do know that I am not the one editing them anymore… Aaron is…” Robbe faked annoyance. “In my days…” Robbe started. “You got tapped to the wall…” Sander jumped in. “Shut up!” Robbe shouted causing both of them to burst into laughter. 

22:51

“We still have the strawberries left…” Sander whispered in Robbe’s ear. “Hmmm…” Robbe hummed. “I’ll fetch some whipped cream and melted chocolate…” Sander whispered. “What would you say if we have them in bath?” Robbe whispered back. “Hmmm, sounds nice” Sander said with a smile.

Robbe went to the bathroom. He filled the bath with moderately warm water and he added a bath bomb and several handfuls of red, white, yellow, and pink rose petals to the water. Next, he placed an assortment of scented candles on the edge of the bathtub and lit them. He placed towels and bathrobes in the towel warmer. He dimmed the bathroom light and selected a romantic playlist on his phone to further increase the romantic atmosphere. 

Then he got undressed and slipped into the relaxing warm bath. The little gas bubbles coming from the bath bomb tickled his skin. Sander walked in with a tray containing the strawberries, whipped cream, a candle-heated fondue set containing melted chocolate, an assortment of macarons,… and an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He placed the tray on a little table next to the bath before getting undressed. Sander joined Robbe into the bath. He laid down with his back on top of Robbe’s chest who wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. 

“I love you” Robbe whispered into Sander’s ear. “I love you too Robin” Sander replied before he reached for the champagne bottle. He filled two glasses and gave one to Robbe before laying down on Robbe again. Sander pressed his back into Robbe… The little boy nearly lost it… It had been a week since he had been intimate with Sander and hence he was burning with desire. Sander knew this and loved to tease his boyfriend. He would make Robbe wait for at least one more hour… All the while teasing him… But he won’t give in before he had driven Robbe to near insanity… 

**Tuesday March 2nd, 2021**

10:26

Sven walked into the gym where he found Robbe running on a treadmill. “You’re still exercising? You know you were supposed to be in your political science class 26 minutes ago…” Sven said. “Fock… I lost track of time…” Robbe said. “Don’t lie to me” Sven said, “Why are you running hours on a treadmill as if your life depends on it?”. Sven didn’t need to ask… He knew the answer. “Robbe… You cannot blame yourself for Sander’s disappearance…” Sven said. “If I had been able to run faster I could have caught up with him…” Robbe said. 

15:53

Robbe was watching Sander sketch while trying to focus on reading ‘Pride and Prejudice’. He had almost finished the book when multiple guards suddenly stormed into the room. “What’s happening?” Robbe asked. “You must come immediately. The Continuity of Government program has been activated” one guard said. “What???” Robbe yelled in disbelief as guards grabbed him by his shoulders and started to push him out of the room. Other guards had grabbed Sander and similarly forced him out. 

A few moments later in the hallways they ran into Sven who was similarly being escorted away. “Who activated the Continuity of Government program?” Sven demanded to know. “The secretary of Defence” a guard replied. “What for?” Sven questioned. “We don’t know… You’ll be briefed once you’re on board of the airplane” the guard explained. “I am not leaving without knowing what is going on…” Sven said annoyed. “Give me the briefcase” he instructed. He unlocked the briefcase and got out the satellite phone and a sealed envelope. 

The red phone rang at the underground Air Defence and Operations Command at BA942. Everyone in the room froze and the commander whispered to himself “It’s just another exercise” to calm down his nerves. He picked up the phone and said: “Air Defence and Operations Command, please state your identification code”. His deputy in the meantime opened the safe and got out the sealed envelope. He opened the envelope and gave the code card to the commander. Sven also broke the seal on his envelope and got out the code card. He looked through the list of ten codes to find the single real one. Nine of them were dummy codes in case the briefcase would be stolen. After finding the real code he read it out loud: “Nine Hotel Foxtrot Sierra Five Eight Victor Oscar Four Six”. The commander verified that the code that Sven read out matched the one on his code card verifying Sven’s identity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, nuclear war has not broken out but to find out what is really happening you will have to wait for the next chapter 😉 
> 
> I’ve not yet fully figured out where to take the story and I have two busy weeks ahead of me so the next update will sadly probably take me another month… I would like to apologize ahead of time.


End file.
